Hispanic Caucus urges Senate to confirm Obama’s pick for El Salvador ambassador

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Hispanic Caucus urges Senate to confirm Obama’s pick for El Salvador ambassador
By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, December 6, 3:51 PM

WASHINGTON — Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Tuesday pressed the Senate to swiftly confirm President Barack Obama’s nominee for ambassador to El Salvador, casting Republican opposition as denying a Hispanic woman a rare shot at a prestigious diplomatic post.

In gloves-off political terms, seven members of the caucus said the Senate’s failure to approve Mari Carmen Aponte, a Washington lawyer and Hispanic activist, would send a message to Latinos nationwide that partisanship trumps qualifications.

“What really makes me mad about this delay and obfuscation is the willingness of my Republican colleagues in the Senate to sacrifice a remarkable Hispanic woman in order to express dissatisfaction with the administration,” said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.

Aponte has served as ambassador in San Salvador since September 2010 after Obama, looking to bypass Republican opposition to her nomination, made her a recess appointee. But her temporary tenure is about to run out and GOP lawmakers are resisting a determined administration effort to secure Senate confirmation.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/whitehouse/old-boyfriend-rumors-anger-over-gay-rights-essay-could-undo-us-ambassador-to-el-salvador/2011/12/06/gIQApfjdYO_story.html?wprss=rss_national