(JNS) The U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Jacob (“Jack”) Lew on Tuesday, Oct. 31 to serve as the next American ambassador to Israel.

The final vote tally was 53-43, with several Republicans, including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), voting with Democrats to approve U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee.

Lew’s nomination was accelerated in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

Lew, a 67-year-old Orthodox Jew, was White House chief of staff under former President Barack Obama, and he directed the Office of Management and Budget under Obama and former President Bill Clinton.

Lew further served as treasury secretary under Obama and was part of the National Security Council in two former administrations.

Lew has come under fire for defending the Iran nuclear deal, which he argued would make Israel safer, and for supporting Obama’s decision in 2016 not to veto United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which declared Israeli communities in Yehuda and Shomron illegal.