Senate confirms USTR, USAID and NHTSA officials

The U.S. Senate confirmed Miriam Sapiro as deputy trade representative Thursday in one of its final acts before adjourning for the year. Senators also approved administrators for the U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

President Obama nominated Sapiro, a former State Department and White House official, in April. She was approved by the Senate Finance Committee in July. She has served under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and was president of Summit Strategies International, a consulting firm focusing on Internet policy. She raised $100,000 to $200,000 for Obama's presidential campaign.

Rajiv Shah was confirmed as the head of USAID. Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee said they hoped Shah, a former executive at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, would help the agency regain its influence after being without an administrator for more than a year.

The State Department is leading a review of how to better coordinate foreign assistance and link development aid to diplomatic goals.

David Strickland, senior counsel to the Senate commerce committee, was approved to lead NHTSA. He helped write the 2007 law that required the first increase in fuel-economy standards in 30 years.

Strickland was Obama's second choice to lead the safety agency. His first nominee, Chuck Hurley, head of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, withdrew after criticism from environmental groups.

The Senate also confirmed several U.S. envoys. The list included Alan Solomont, who raised more than $500,000 for Obama's presidential campaign, as ambassador to Spain and Andorra; Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, who raised at least $100,000 for Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, as ambassador to Hungary; and Anne Andrew, wife of former Democratic National Committee chairman Joe Andrew, as ambassador to Costa Rica.