WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development after months of delay rooted in a separate dispute over the international nuclear deal with Iran.
Senators voted 79-7 Monday to confirm Gayle Smith to be administrator of USAID. Smith is the senior director for development and democracy at the White House’s National Security Council.
Smith’s nomination was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in July, but has been held up for months by Republicans controlling the chamber.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said over the summer that he would block any nominees for State Department positions to protest the Obama administration’s nuclear agreement with Iran. As a consequence, USAID has been without a leader.
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