The United States Senate on Friday confirmed Mike Waltz as the next ambassador to the United Nations, a position that had been vacant for eight months.
The Senate voted 47 to 43 in favour of the appointment, with Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky the only Republican on the committee to vote against Waltz.
The confirmation came just days before the UN General Assembly high-level meetings in New York, where Heads of State and government leaders deliver speeches and hold talks.
President Donald Trump nominated Waltz, a former National Security Advisor, in May, but the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had originally pushed for his confirmation on July 24.
Waltz was among the nominees whose names were sent back to the panel earlier this month following objections from Democrats who protested their initial exclusion from the committee.
Speaking to senators during the hearing, Waltz stated that the UN needed major reform, saying: “After 80 years, it’s drifted from its core mission of peacemaking.”
Waltz had faced criticism after he inadvertently added Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal chat group where the strikes on Houthis in Yemen were discussed.
After his removal, Trump appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his leadership at the State Department.
