WASHINGTON (KNX) — President Joe Biden nominated business executive and one-time California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman on Wednesday to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya.
Whitman, who has primarily lived in the Bay Area but resided part-time in West Hollywood until 2020, was formerly the leader of Hewlett Packard and eBay. She was one of a handful of Republicans to endorse Joe Biden’s presidential campaign at the Democratic National Convention in August 2020. She also endorsed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016.
Whitman ran for governor of California in 2010, losing to Democrat Jerry Brown.
In 2020, she led the L.A.-based video streaming platform Quibi with Hollywood producer Jeffrey Katzenberg. The venture was unsuccessful, with its content library sold to Roku earlier this year.
It was unknown when Whitman would be confirmed for her post representing the U.S. in the East African nation. Thus far, Biden’s diplomatic appointees — including L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, set to represent the U.S. in India — have been stuck in a mounting backlog awaiting a hearing in the Senate. After months of waiting and speculation, Garcetti’s confirmation hearing was finally put on the docket on Wednesday for the proceeding Tuesday, Dec. 14.
Selection of a business figure to lead U.S. interests in Kenya may have had something to do with the country’s economic prospects. Kenya, along with Morocco and Ghana, have been designated the fastest-growest economies in Africa in 2021.
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