Christopher Hill '74 earned Senate confirmation, 73-23, on Tuesday to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.
Hill was already on his way to the Middle East on Thursday night, he told the Orient.
"I'm just taking off now from D.C. en route to Kuwait," he wrote in an e-mail to the Orient at 9:44 p.m. Thursday.
All 23 "nay" votes came from Republicans. Eighteen Republicans submitted "yea" votes, and one abstained. Republican Sam Brownback of Kansas led the opposition, and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain, R.-Ariz., also voted against Hill's confirmation. Maine's two senators, both generally considered to be among the most moderate Republicans in the upper house, voted to confirm Hill's appointment. One Republican abstained.
Of the 48 Democrats in the Senate, 46 voted to confirm Hill's appointment, and two abstained. One of Minnesota's seats, contested by Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman, has not yet been decided.
On Monday, the Senate voted 73-17 to end debate on Hill's confirmation, which mainly consisted of a Brownback filibuster.
Hill has previously served as U.S. Ambassador to North Korea (2004-2005), as well as Poland (2000-2004) and Macedonia (1996-1999).
In Iraq, Hill will head the United States' largest embassy, a newly opened complex in Baghdad's Green Zone. Hill spoke at Bowdoin's Pickard Theater on the evening of Thursday, April 2. On Saturday, April 4, Hill played in a men's lacrosse alumni game.