The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday advanced Jack Lew's nomination to be the next US ambassador to Israel, NBC News reported.
The Democratic-led panel reported the nomination out of the committee in a 12-9 vote, a week after Lew testified before lawmakers at his confirmation hearing.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only Republican in the committee who voted with all Democratic members to advance Lew's nomination.
Lew needed a simple majority in the committee to support his nomination to advance to the Senate floor, where a final confirmation vote will likely occur next week.
Biden nominated Lew for the post last month. Lew, who practices Orthodox Judaism, has observed Shabbat throughout his governmental career and has deep relationships with the Jewish community throughout the US. He previously served as Treasury Secretary during the Obama administration, when Biden was Vice President.
He will replace Thomas Nides, who left the post in July. Lew would be the third Orthodox Jew to serve as US Ambassador to Israel, and the first to do so under a Democratic President. Daniel Kurtzer served as the Bush administration's envoy to Israel from 2001 to 2005, and David Friedman served as ambassador under the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021.
The full Senate is expected to hold the confirmation vote on Lew's nomination next week at the earliest, as holding a vote this week would require an agreement among all 100 senators, which is highly unlikely because of GOP opposition to his nomination.
At his confirmation hearing last week, Lew said that Israel’s “security is paramount” and called Iran “a threat to regional stability and Israel’s existence”, according to NBC News.
“I will do my utmost to end the horrific attacks by Hamas and to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself, and I will spare no effort in working to help American citizens now captive to return home safely,” he said.