Biden Nominates Cindy McCain As U.S. Ambassador To UN Food Program

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced 17 nominations for key roles in his administration. Cindy McCain, the widow of the late GOP Sen. John McCain, has been tapped for the role of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations World Food Programme and Claire Cronin, the second-ranking Democrat in the Massachusetts House, has been nominated to take the mantle of ambassador to Ireland.

McCain’s nomination has been in the works for some time, The New York Times reported . She endorsed Biden during the all-virtual Democratic National Convention last year, saying in a video that the Democrat was the “only” candidate “who stands up for our values as a nation.”

“My husband John lived by a code: country first. We are Republicans , yes, but Americans foremost,” she said.

More recently, McCain told CNN  in an interview that she’d be “proud and honored to serve” in the Biden administration.

The Senate will need to approve McCain’s appointment before it’s finalized. As ambassador to the UN food program, McCain — a businesswoman and philanthropist — would represent the U.S. in three UN agencies for food and agriculture located in Rome, all of which are aimed at defeating global hunger and enhancing food security.

McCain said on Twitter that she was “deeply honored” by the nomination and said she was looking forward to “the work ahead.”

Biden’s other nominations announced Wednesday included Jack Markell, former Delaware governor, for the role of ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); and Michael Carpenter, managing director of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania, for the position of ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).