President Joe Biden is poised to name former congressman Joseph Kennedy III as special envoy to Northern Ireland.
Politico was reporting today that the The 42 year-old former congressman will fill the post which has been vacant since January 2021 when Donald Trump’s former White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, stepped down from the role.
It comes at a sensitive time for Northern Ireland, which has been without a sitting executive, and has found itself at the center of a standoff between the U.K. and the EU over Brexit trade arrangements, the Politico report stated.
The report added: "Two officials told POLITICO that an announcement is imminent from the White House. From January, new rules mean that all special envoy roles must be approved by the U.S. Senate — a procedural requirement that could delay any appointment."
The Wall Street Journal later reported that Kennedy, in his role, would be focusing on economic issues linked to Brexit. That would include the Irish Sea Protocol which has resulted in political paralysis at Stormont.
Irish American organizations, including the Ancient Order of Hibernians, have been calling for an envoy appointment almost since the day that President Biden was inaugurated in January, 2021.
