Max Baucus tipped to replace Gary Locke as US ambassador to China
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Version 0 of 1. Barack Obama is looking to the Senate again to fill a top diplomatic post, with Democratic party officials saying he intends to nominate six-term Senator Max Baucus of Montana to be the next US ambassador to China. If confirmed by the Senate, Baucus would replace Gary Locke, who plans to step down in 2014. The White House could make a formal announcement about the selection of Baucus as early as Thursday. Baucus, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election, is knowledgeable on trade issues as chairman of the Senate finance committee but better known for his work on that panel steering Obama's health care overhaul into law three years ago. Nearly a year ago Obama reached into the Senate ranks when he nominated John Kerry to serve as secretary of state. The Massachusetts Democrat had a smooth path to confirmation and Baucus, as a member of the Senate club, is likely to easily secure approval from his colleagues. Baucus's departure from the Senate would have an immediate impact on one of Congress's most powerful committees and on the 2014 election for control of Congress. Under Montana state law the Democratic Governor Steve Bullock has the authority to name a Senate successor to serve until the election and speculation immediately turned to a fellow Democrat, Lieutenant John Walsh, who is already running for Senate. Locke, whose term was marked by a dramatic diplomatic row over the fate of a human rights activist, has said he is stepping down for personal reasons. His two and a half years as ambassador were highlighted by a tussle over the blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who escaped from house arrest to seek refuge in the embassy and secured a visa to travel to New York to study on a US-brokered deal. Locke is the first American of Chinese descent to head the US embassy in Beijing. His grandfather emigrated from China to Washington state, and his father, who was also born in China, ran a grocery store in the United States. Chinese criticism of him mounted in 2012 over the Chen affair, which overshadowed high-level US-Chinese foreign policy and economic talks. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |