Tom Udall

The Senate confirmed his appointment on Tuesday along with three other appointees.

Udall served two terms in the Senate and five terms in the House of Representatives and was also a ranking member of the foreign relations committee.

Reuters repots the confirmation of the ambassadors was unusual in the bitterly divided Senate, where Republicans have refused to confirm many of the Democratic president's nominees.

The White House announced on Saturday that his nomination has to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before he can take up his appointment based in Wellington. 

The incoming ambassador served in the U.S. Senate from 2009 to 2021. 

He also represented New Mexico in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, according to information published by The Church of Jesus Christ that keeps track of Latter-day Saints who serve in the U.S. Congress.