On June 28, American Ambassador Donald Lu will appear in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, relating to his nomination as U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic. The announcement was published on the Committee’s official website.
If the Committee finds nothing inappropriate in Lu’s background, it appoints a Senate hearing date. After the hearing, the Senate will decide whether Lu will be appointed as Ambassador or not.
Meanwhile, there is still no information regarding when U.S. President Trump will appoint the new Albanian Ambassador. However, taking into account the time it takes the U.S. Congress to confirm an ambassador’s appointment, compounded by the August recess, one can surmise that the new U.S. ambassador isn’t likely to take office before the end of the year.
To fill the vacuum, the Department of State has decided that the new deputy chief of mission, who has been appointed and is expected to arrive in Albania at the beginning of August, will act as the head of the U.S. Embassy until the arrival of the new U.S. ambassador.
Many media outlets that have previously alleged that Lu’s term as ambassador would be extended by another year, are currently reporting that the new U.S. Ambassador to Albania will be Resident Legal Advisor for OPDAT, Jon Smibert.
However, Exit can confirm that these rumors are incorrect.
