Topline
President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the nomination of Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger to an ambassador-level position as part of his first slate of political ambassadorships, which also includes two high-profile former Obama cabinet officials.
Key Facts
Sullenberger has been tapped as U.S. representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency that sets international air safety standards.
Sullenberger is best known as the “Hero on the Hudson” for successfully landing a disabled U.S. Airways flight on the Hudson River in 2009 with zero casualties, inspiring a blockbuster film starring Tom Hanks.
Tom Nides, a banking executive and former top official in the Obama State Department, has been nominated as ambassador to Israel.
Ken Salazar, a former U.S. senator from Colorado who served as secretary of the interior in the Obama administration, has been tapped as ambassador to Mexico.
Dr. Cynthia Ann Telles, a Democratic donor who reportedly raised money for the Biden campaign, has been nominated as ambassador to Costa Rica, while longtime Biden adviser Julianne Smith was tapped for U.S. representative to NATO.
Biden also tapped four career foreign service officers: State Department officials Marc Ostfield, Julie Chung and Troy Fitrell as ambassadors to Paraguay, Sri Lanka and Guinea respectively, and former NIAID official Sharon Cromer as ambassador to Gambia.
Key Background
Since retiring as an airline pilot, Sullenberger, a former Air Force fighter pilot, has worked as a public speaker on aviation safety. He has also served as an aviation safety research consultant to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and a member of the Air Line Pilots Association accident investigation committee.
Big Number
30%. That’s the share of around 190 ambassadorships the Biden administration intends to fill with political appointees, with 70% of posts going to career civil servants, Axios reported in January. That’s in line with historical standards and represents a change from the Trump administration, which filled around 45% of ambassadorships with political appointees.
What To Watch For
The nominations will now be sent to the Senate but are all likely to pass, as ambassadorships are rarely contentious votes.
Correction: this article initially misspelled Sullenberger’s first name as “Chelsey.”