The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE United States yesterday announced the nomination of a former White House attorney for the post of ambassador to the Bahamas.

Although a ratification by the US Senate is still to come, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said the announcement of Cassandra Butts’ appointment was welcomed as the Bahamas looks forward to a continued good and cordial working relationship with the US.

Butts, 48, was a classmate of Obama’s at Harvard Law School. She was born in Brooklyn, New York.

In a statement from the White House’s Office of the Press Secretary, Ms Butts’ nomination was announced along with two other officials: Bob Work for America’s Deputy Secretary of Defense and Matthew McGuire as the appointee of the US executive director - International Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

President Obama said: “I am pleased to announce that these experienced and committed individuals have agreed to join this Administration, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

Ms Butts now serves as Senior Advisor to the chief executive officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation where she chairs the investment committee.

Additionally, she served as Deputy White House Counsel to President Obama and General Counsel to the Obama-Biden Transition Project. From 2004 to 2008 she served as Senior Vice President of Domestic Policy at the Centre for American Progress.

From 2002 to 2004, she served as Counsel and Policy Director to House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt and as Deputy Executive Director of the Democratic Policy Committee in the US House of Representatives from 1996 to 2002.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a JD from Harvard Law School.

US Chargé d’Affaires John Dinkelman will continue to serve as the Chief of Mission until Ms Butts is formally nominated by President Barack Obama, confirmed by the US Congress, and has the opportunity to present her credentials to the Governor General.