A longtime aide who once worked for the first lady will be nominated by President Joe Biden to represent the U.S. at the U.N. agency devoted to arts, education, science and culture, a White House official said Monday.
AP reports the Democratic president’s choice to become the U.S. permanent representative to the Paris-based UNESCO, with the rank of ambassador, is longtime aide Courtney Diesel O’Donnell.
O’Donnell has in the past represented U.S. interests at the World Economic Forum (WEF) by attending global leader annual summits.
She is currently a senior adviser in Vice President Kamala Harris’ office and acting chief of staff for Harris’ husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, adding her voice to a range of national and global issues.
O’Donnell also was communications director for Jill Biden, when she was second lady during Joe Biden’s vice presidency when Barack Obama was in the White House.
The U.S. exited UNESCO in 2017 under then President Donald Trump who cited anti-Israel bias within the organization.
The first lady attended a ceremony in late July at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, where the U.S. flag was raised to mark Washington’s official reentry into the U.N. agency after the absence initiated by Trump but now restored by Biden.
UNESCO billed the White House $619 million to enable it to rejoin, as Breitbart News reported.
Apart from paying its back dues, the Biden administration also agreed to fund 22 percent of UNESCO’s future budget and contribute to programs in Africa among others.
“I am encouraged and grateful that UNESCO members have accepted the U.S. proposal,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement acknowledging the return to the globalist organization.
The Senate must vote on O’Donnell’s nomination at a date still to be determined.
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