Biden Nominates Ex Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel As Ambassador To Japan

President Joe Biden nominated former Chicago Mayor and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to serve as his administration’s ambassador to Japan, the White House announced Friday.

Emanuel served as former President Barack Obama‘s chief of staff from 2009 to 2010. He then served as the mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019, where he made national headlines for his handling of the police shooting a black teenager in 2014.

The White House touted Emanuel’s economic accomplishments during his time as a mayor while also praising his work as a chief of staff for helping to pass the Affordable Care Act and the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill.

Following the announcement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) also welcomed his nomination in a statement.

“In the House and, indeed, across the nation, Rahm Emanuel is known and respected by all for his relentlessness and track record of success,” Pelosi said in a statement. “His great experience, from the U.S. House to the White House, will serve our nation well, as he works to deepen one of our nation’s most important alliances, champion American interests abroad and advance regional security and prosperity.”

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), a former ambassador to Japan during the Trump administration, congratulated Emanuel on taking over his position even while taking a shot at President Joe Biden.

“Given the ongoing failures witnessed in Afghanistan, it will be incumbent upon Mayor Emanuel to demonstrate strongly his ability to represent America’s vital interests in the region, and to protect the thousands of our citizens that are in Japan on any given day under the U.S. Ambassador’s Chief of Mission authority just as I did,” Hagerty said in a statement. “The Japanese people have an incredible spirit and a deep love for the United States, and I have no doubt that they look forward to welcoming the next U.S. Ambassador.”