Azernews.Az

Matthew Bryza should be re-nominated by US President Barack Obama as ambassador to Azerbaijan so that the Senate would be able to review his candidacy again, a US senator has said.

"I deem it my constitutional duty and one of my paramount tasks to both advise and consult regarding the President's nominations," Senator Frank Lautenberg said in his response to a question asked by Pax Turcica, a research center established by the Azerbaijani and Turkish diaspora.

"I evaluate each presidential nominee in terms of his or her experience and intellectual capability to do the job," Lautenberg said in a letter to Pax Turcica, according to the Azerbaijani-American Council.

Obama appointed a career diplomat, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Bryza, as ambassador to Azerbaijan bypass the Senate on December 29, 2010, after his final approval had been stalled by several pro-Armenian senators claiming his pro-Azerbaijani bias. In late December Bryza ended his mission in Azerbaijan and left for the U.S. since his candidacy was not approved by the Senate. Under US laws, Bryza’s so-called recess appointment was temporary, lasting only one year, until the Congressional session ended in late 2011.

A new nominee of President Obama, federal judge Patty Shwartz, is being blocked by Senator Robert Menendez, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

Shwartz has served as a magistrate judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey for the past nine years.