The vote on Wednesday was 53-46 to back President’s Trump’s nomination with only one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman, crossing the aisle to support it.
Huckabee, 69, a former Arkansas governor, was an ordained Southern Baptist pastor before serving two terms as a Republican governor. He has also been a vocal supporter of Israel and has visited the country more than 100 times.
Gary Bauer, who leads Campaign for Working Families, is a longtime evangelical supporter of Israel who served on the board of Christians United for Israel. He calls it a miracle that God has opened the door for an evangelical Christian to be ambassador to Israel.
“If you go back 20 years or so, it probably would have been very hard to nominate a prominent Christian to be ambassador to Israel,” he advises. “But, today, the people of Israel understand that the political left in America is moving year after year further toward hostility to Israel."
That hostility has been shockingly evident on college and university campuses. After Israel counter-attacked Hamas in 2023 for its Oct. 7 surprise attack, Jews have watched far-left students and faculty denounce Israel’s “genocide” against Palestinians and praise Hamas for its “Intifada,” or “uprising,” against Israel.
Huckabee, who has no experience in U.S. diplomacy, has sought the GOP nomination for president twice. During his first campaign, in 2008, he famously stated “there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian.”
After the Senate vote, Huckabee’s confirmation was praised by Israel’s prime minster, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a post on X.
“Congratulations to my dear friend @GovMikeHuckabee upon being confirmed as the next ambassador of the United States to Israel,” Netanyahu wrote. “This is a great day for the Israeli-American alliance.”
“Thank you @IsraeliPM and I look forward to working with you as we pray for the ‘Peace of Jerusalem!,’” Huckabee, in his own X post, replied.
