Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, President Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Israel, testifies during his confirmation hearing. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(JTA) — The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Mike Huckabee as the Trump administration’s ambassador to Israel Wednesday.
Senators installed Huckabee in a vote of 53 to 46, with all Republicans backing the Trump appointee along with Sen. John Fetterman, a staunchly pro-Israel Democrat from Pennsylvania.
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and self-identified Christian Zionist, will now assume the high-profile post during a time when U.S.-Israel relations have been shaken by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and as the United States opens nuclear talks with Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy.
During Huckabee’s confirmation hearing in March, he told senators that he personally supported Israel annexation of the West Bank, but would defer to Trump’s policies.
“If confirmed it will be my duty to carry out the president’s policies, not mine,” Huckabee said during the hearing. “One of the things that I will recognize — an ambassador doesn’t create the policy, he carries the policy of his country and the president.”
He also told senators that Trump did not support the forcible displacement of Palestinians, which the president had previously proposed while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in February. This week, Trump reiterated a vision for moving Palestinians to different countries during a second visit by Netanyahu. Both times, he expressed an interest in having the United States take over Gaza, where Israel has waged war since Oct. 7, 2023.
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