Senate confirms Barbara Leaf to lead State's Middle East bureau
The career diplomat's nomination was approveded by a vote of 54 to 44.
The US Senate has confirmed career diplomat Barbara Leaf as the State Department’s top Middle East official, nearly a year after Senator Ted Cruz put a hold on approving her nomination.
By a vote of 54 to 44, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed Leaf as the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. Leaf has been serving as the National Security Council’s senior director for the Middle East.
Cruz, R-Texas, had held up her nomination since October, ostensibly because he was unsatisfied with her written responses to his questions on issues including Iran, Israel and Egypt. Cruz’s critics, including Connecticut Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy, accused the Texas senator of “political grandstanding.”
Three Senate Republicans — Mitt Romney, Rand Paul, and Rob Portman — ended the impasse in March and voted to advance her confirmation.
