With Israel at war with Hamas, the Senate is moving urgently to fill key U.S. diplomatic posts throughout the Middle East — many of which have been sitting empty for months.
Most glaringly, the U.S. does not currently have an ambassador in Israel. That vacancy hobbles the Biden administration's ability to pursue a number of goals, from negotiating the release of U.S. hostages held by Hamas to easing the violence and preventing it from blossoming into a wider conflict.
