[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 179 (Tuesday, October 31, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Vote on Lew Nomination

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the Lew nomination?
  Mr. CARDIN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Utah (Mr. Lee), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Marshall), the 
Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Scott), and the Senator from North 
Carolina (Mr. Tillis).
  The Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis) would have voted ``nay'' 
and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Marshall) would have voted ``nay.''
  The result was announced--yeas 53, nays 43, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 276 Ex.]

                                YEAS--53

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Butler
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Fetterman
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hickenlooper
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Kelly
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lujan
     Manchin
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Ossoff
     Padilla
     Paul
     Peters
     Reed
     Rosen
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warnock
     Warren
     Welch
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--43

     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Boozman
     Braun
     Britt
     Budd
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Grassley
     Hagerty
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lummis
     McConnell
     Moran
     Mullin
     Murkowski
     Ricketts
     Risch
     Romney
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Schmitt
     Scott (FL)
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tuberville
     Vance
     Wicker
     Young

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Lee
     Marshall
     Scott (SC)
     Tillis
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Welch). Under the previous order, the 
motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and 
the President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
  The majority leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the Senate, I am proud to say, has now 
taken an extremely important step in our support of Israel. We have 
approved, with bipartisan support, Jack Lew to serve as the U.S. 
Ambassador to Israel. With Israel defending itself against Hamas, this 
ambassadorship is as important and timely as any nomination that the 
Senate has confirmed in a long time.
  Mr. Lew is the right man for the job of Ambassador to Israel. He is a 
capable public servant, a fierce ally of Israel's, and commands a broad 
base of trust and respect, and he is a decent and humane man.
  When my colleagues and I met with the Israeli Government, we promised 
to send them an ambassador as soon as possible. Today, the Senate has 
kept that promise. Having an ambassador in Israel means stronger 
diplomatic ties between the United States and Israel at a time when 
these bonds matter most. It means Israel's messages will be conveyed 
appropriately to our government, but it also means our government's 
messages will be sent appropriately to the Israeli Government. So it 
helps the two-way street of communication--so important right now. 
Having an ambassador ensures America can work with Israel and 
communicate with Israel in both directions at the highest level as the 
fight against Hamas continues.
  I thank my colleagues for confirming Mr. Lew on a bipartisan basis. 
Thank you to Chairman Cardin and the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee, which championed Mr. Lew's nomination.
  Finally, I want to applaud the remarkable team at the U.S. Embassy in 
Israel, all of whom have done exceptional work under the most difficult 
circumstances.
  When I went to Israel with my Senate colleagues, I got to see the 
Embassy's incredible work up close, especially the outstanding Charg 
d'Affaires, but we also saw the need, the vacancy, the hole that was 
there during a time of crisis when we didn't have an ambassador, and we 
saw how much we needed one. We are easing the short-staffed Embassy's 
burden by sending a fully appointed ambassador so they can continue 
carrying out their mission with excellence during this pivotal moment.

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