Biden to appoint Joe Kennedy III as special envoy to Northern Ireland: Report
by Ryan King, Breaking News Reporter
December 17, 2022 03:25 PM
President Joe Biden is reportedly planning to appoint former Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) as a special envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs amid upheaval in the region due to Brexit.
Kennedy, the grandson of former Sen. Robert Kennedy (D-MA), served in Congress from 2013 to 2021 as a rising progressive star until he lost his primary bid to oust Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA). The post, known as the U.S. special envoy to Northern Ireland, had been left empty after the exit of Mick Mulvaney following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
An announcement is expected in the coming days, per the Wall Street Journal. A number of politicos, such as Rep.-elect Mike Lawler (R-NY), had pushed the Biden administration to fill the vacated post because of the political tug-of-war over Northern Ireland caused by the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.
“He will be very much focused on advancing US economic engagement and people-to-people ties,” a Biden administration official told the news outlet.
Biden has opposed actions that would thwart the movement of labor and money between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which remains a member of the EU. The envoy role was first established by former President Bill Clinton and had been backed by the younger Kennedy's father, former Rep. Joe Kennedy II (D-MA).
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign/biden-appoints-joe-kennedy-special-envoy-northern-ireland
