The U.S. Senate on Wednesday backed former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel, installing a staunch pro-Israel conservative in the high-profile post amid war in Gaza and relations complicated by U.S. tariffs.
The Senate backed Huckabee by 53 to 46, largely along party lines, with Republicans all backing President Donald Trump's nominee and every Democrat except Pennsylvania's John Fetterman voting against him.
An evangelical Christian, Huckabee has been a vocal supporter of Israel throughout his political career and a longtime defender of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
"We urgently need a qualified ambassador in the region, and I have no doubt Mike Huckabee is that person," Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said as he urged support for the nominee.