President Joe Biden intends to nominate Charlie Crist as an ambassador, the White House said on Wednesday.
The announcement comes about seven months after Crist lost his bid to defeat Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and reclaim his old job after more than a decade.
In particular, Crist is being picked to be the U.S. representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) with the rank of ambassador. The ICAO, an agency of the United Nations which has its headquarters in Montreal, is focused on promoting civil aviation safety.
Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot famous for making a 2009 emergency landing in the Hudson River, served as U.S. representative to ICAO after being confirmed by the Senate in late 2021, but he abruptly decided to step down that following summer.
Crist, who has swapped parties over the years, previously served as Florida attorney general, governor, and then as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He resigned from Congress in late August after beating Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried in the Democratic Party’s primary in the governor’s race.
Despite receiving a campaign boost from Biden, who called the Florida gubernatorial election “one of the most important races in the country,” Crist lost by double digits to DeSantis.
“Former Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist gets a consolation prize from Biden,” observed Punchbowl News co-founder John Bresnahan in response to the White House nomination announcement.
Crist’s old House seat is now held by Republican Anna Paulina Luna, who won the general election contest to represent Florida’s redrawn 13th Congressional District. Several weeks after former President Donald Trump praised Crist for doing a “good job” as governor in an attack on DeSantis. DeSantis announced he is running for president last month.
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Crist is “a political leader and attorney” who “has dedicated his life to public service,” the White House said. Its statement also touted how Crist “guided the state through challenging times, including the Great Recession and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill” as Florida governor.
“Despite drastic budget shortfalls due to the economic crisis, he made public education a top priority, steering federal stimulus funding to save thousands of teachers’ jobs,” the White House added. “He is also a staunch environmental advocate, working at the federal and state levels to help secure billions in public and private aid to restore the Florida Everglades.”