Mark Brzezinski’s nomination as US ambassador to Poland was sent to the Senate on Monday alongside 12 other candidacies for positions which require the institution’s confirmation.
Although his nomination is not controversial in Washington, its formal confirmation may take a while.
This is due to limited time for debate, delayed sending of candidacies by Joe Biden, and the blockade of diplomatic nominations by Ted Cruz as a protest against the Biden administration’s support for Nord Stream 2. The US Senate is also taking leave for its annual monthly holiday break this week.
Since the start of Biden’s term as president, 92 such nominations have been directed to the Senate, out of which only 8 have been confirmed. Among them was only one ambassador – US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who holds the rank of member of cabinet.
Mark Brzezinski is the son of Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was counsellor to President Lyndon B. Johnson and also was President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor. The younger Brzezinski worked in Barack Obama’s administration as the director of the government Arctic Executive Steering Committee and the US ambassador to Sweden.
He also worked in the White House National Security Council in Bill Clinton’s administration, first as a director for Russian and Eurasian affairs and later as director for Balkan affairs.
Mark Brzezinski was awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland in 2009.
