The Senate confirms Christopher Landau as undersecretary of state and John Phelan as secretary of the Navy

President Donald Trump's nominee for undersecretary of state, Christopher Landau, was confirmed by the Senate after a final tally of 60 votes to 31. This materialized the appointment of a respected diplomatic figure to a position whose role revolves around the country's international relations and foreign policy.

Responding to congratulations from a user on the social media platform X, Landau expressed his satisfaction at having won the Senate confirmation and expressed his gratitude to both Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will be his second in command. "of course am grateful to @realDonaldTrump and @SecRubio for giving me this opportunity to serve our beloved country," Landau wrote.

With his confirmation, the Department of State adds another politician with enormous knowledge of Latin America's economic and socio-political realities. Landau is an expert diplomat who was ambassador to Mexico and lived in Venezuela. Regarding Venezuela, the confirmed undersecretary of state has expressed on numerous occasions that the blame for the tragedy lies with both the socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro and Chavismo, which he has considered one of the greatest threats to Latin America and the Western Hemisphere.

Senate confirms John Phelan

In addition to Landau, the Senate also confirmed businessman John Phelan as the new secretary of the Navy after a final result of 62 votes in favor and 30 against. Phelan is the founder of a prestigious private investment firm and one of the main donors to Trump's presidential campaign. Despite having no previous military experience, a fact that was pointed out by several of those who voted against him, Phelan has argued that it is precisely his background in the private sector that makes him the ideal candidate to solve the different problems that the U.S. Navy has experienced over the past few years.

In addition to being the president and founder of Rugger Management LLC, Phelan was the managing partner of private equity firm MSD Capital. Similarly, Phelan is known to be a prominent art collector.