Report: Claire McCaskill in Line for European Ambassadorship

Former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill is reportedly in consideration for an ambassador post somewhere in western Europe, according to a report from Axios, which does not name a country.

McCaskill, who is currently working as a political analyst at MSNBC, did not respond to a  request for comment from The Kansas City Star about the report. She recently said in an interview with St. Louis Public Radio that she’s ”way happier” in her current job than she thought she would be.

”What they’re really doing is they’re paying me to talk about something I love and to be incredibly candid — and hopefully be able to simplify complicated things for the viewers of MSNBC,” McCaskill said. ”And it’s been a blast. I hope people can tell how much fun I’m having. I’m way happier than I thought I would be.”

Axios previously reported that Biden has selected Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as his ambassador to India, while CNBC reported on Wednesday that the president has picked veteran diplomat and Morgan Stanley executive Thomas Nides to serve as ambassador to Israel.

President Joe Biden is expected to name several choices for ambassador positions in the upcoming weeks, including the likely decision to name Cindy McCain ambassador to the United Nations’ World Food Programme, former Interior secretary Ken Salazar ambassador to Mexico, and longtime diplomat Nick Burns as ambassador to China. Former Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut reportedly turned down a post from the administration. The White House has yet to confirm these reported selections.

Axios notes that there are about 190 ambassador posts available, and that Biden is expected to fill about 30% of them with political allies and donors, and about 70% with career diplomats, which has been the ratio upheld by most modern presidents, with the exception of former President Donald Trump, who nominated an above-average number of political choices at 44%, according to the American Foreign Service Association.