Childress is next US ambassador to Dar

Childress would succeed Alfonso Lenhardt, who served in Dar starting in 2009 

By The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• The new envoy is a longtime Washington insider who was a close adviser to former senator and one time-majority leader Tom Daschle

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania will soon get a new US ambassador after the Senate confirmed Mark Bradley Childress, most recently President Obama’s deputy chief of staff for planning, as America’s next ambassador to the East African country.

According to information obtained yesterday, Childress was confirmed by a voice vote conducted on Monday night.

The new envoy, who in May was profiled by Buzzfeed in an article titled, “Meet The Most Powerful Man In The White House You’ve Never Heard Of,” is a longtime Washington insider who was a close adviser to former senator and one time-majority leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.).

This fall, The Washington Post reported that Childress was among the top White House staffers warned about the potential risks of HealthCare.gov’s launch.

The Senate also confirmed unanimously two undersecretaries at the Homeland Security Department:

Francis Xavier Taylor, who has had a long career in national security, including counterterrorism and diplomatic security posts under President George W. Bush, to be undersecretary for intelligence and analysis.

L. Reginald Brothers, Jr., who was deputy assistant secretary of defense for research, to be undersecretary for science and technology.

According to Allgov.com, the next ambassador to  Tanzania  will be an attorney well-versed in the ways of Washington.

Mr Childress has served as an assistant to President Barack Obama and deputy chief of staff for planning at the White House since 2012. Nominated July 8, Childress would succeed Alfonso Lenhardt, who served in Dar es Salaam starting in 2009.

Born circa 1959 in Asheville, N.C., Mark Childress earned a B.A. at Yale University and a J.D. at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Law School