On December 16, the U.S. Senate was able to released four State Department nominees from the body’s confirmation tacky super glue. There were logged senate votes for the first three nominees (China, EB, IRF), and for the confirmation of the Ambassador to Luxembourg, a simple voice vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also tweeted “I have filed cloture to start the process on more than 20 of President Biden’s nominees. These nominees are vital to addressing the national security and economic challenges of our nation. We will work until they are all confirmed by this chamber.”

It was for 22 nominations to be exact. 12 out of 22 are @StateDept nominations. 1 of 12 is a career diplomat (going to Vietnam). In the Senate priorities on which nominations should be confirmed first, former senators and widows of senators are obviously on top of the list, followed by the donor class and the friends with connections class, and then if there is still time, they may also confirm the career folks before they end their session for the holidays. Otherwise, it may not look  good; although that does not seem to matter anymore these days.  Phuey! I supposed we can stick with the hamsters’ motto of the more things change, the more things stay the same. Amen.

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LOGGED NEW SENATE VOTE (00503)
R. Nicholas Burns, of Massachusetts, to be Ambassador to…https://t.co/MghYc97OI6 pic.twitter.com/xpuIBnjtJy

— CATargetBot (@CATargetBot) December 16, 2021

By unanimous consent, the Senate passed H.R. 6256 (Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act).

Under the UC agreement, there will be 3 votes at 4:30pm today:

1. Confirmation of Exec. Cal. #525, R. Nicholas Burns to be Ambassador of the US to the People's Republic of China.

1/2

— Senate Periodicals (@SenatePPG) December 16, 2021

R. Nicholas Burns, President Biden’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to China, told a Senate panel on Wednesday that if he was confirmed he would help Mr. Biden pursue a strategy of competition and cooperation with a rising Beijing. https://t.co/jDcMEwmxHp

— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) October 21, 2021

LOGGED NEW SENATE VOTE (00504)
Ramin Toloui, of Iowa, to be an Assistant Secretary of S…https://t.co/Y7KirqMDGi pic.twitter.com/RfiBkjOfqH

— CATargetBot (@CATargetBot) December 17, 2021

Great news, my friend @RaminToloui is brilliant and a wonderful person. “President Biden is set to tap Ramin Toloui, an expert in artificial intelligence and investment management, as the State Department’s next head of economic and business affairs” https://t.co/jQ5FTxTaw9

— Karim Sadjadpour (@ksadjadpour) August 2, 2021

LOGGED NEW SENATE VOTE (00505)
Rashad Hussain, of Virginia, to be Ambassador at Large f…https://t.co/VUnQIOakOz pic.twitter.com/YIT5Ln9CGZ

— CATargetBot (@CATargetBot) December 17, 2021

Congratulations to my colleague and friend Rashad Hussain, our new Ambassador for International Religious Freedom! pic.twitter.com/TFl3XGhhkg

— Jim Thompson (@JimTThompson) December 17, 2021

Confirmed by voice vote: Executive Calendar #622 Thomas Barrett to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) December 17, 2021

President Joe Biden nominated Milwaukee Mayor Thomas Barrett to serve as Ambassador to #Luxembourg. If approved by the U.S. Senate, the historic bond between the State of Wisconsin and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg will be strengthened. https://t.co/tkeYkAdQbm pic.twitter.com/PddGN6qKi0

— LTIO NY (@LTIONYC) August 26, 2021