The White House is defending President Obama’s nomination of a soap opera producer as the new ambassador to Hungary.
Colleen Bradley Bell was confirmed today by the Senate, although Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) berated her as a “totally unqualified individual” to serve as ambassador after she ducked a series of questions during her confirmation hearing.
Bell was the producer for the television soap opera “The Bold and The Beautiful,” and contributed $800,000 to Obama and bundled more than $2.1 million for his re-election campaign.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest defended the nomination, reminding reporters that she had “her own distinguished private sector career.”
Earnest added that the President had “complete confidence” in Bell’s ability to serve as an ambassador in spite of Republican skepticism.
When asked if Bell’s nomination had anything to do with the amount of money she raised by the president, Earnest replied, “That’s not the reason she was chosen.”