Senators voted 92-7 to confirm John Abizaid to the post, nearly five months after Trump announced his intention to nominate the retired general amid an uptick in tensions between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

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The vacancy in the ambassador post became a point of contention in the wake of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi's slaying in a Saudi Consultant in Turkey in October, which put a strain on U.S.-Saudi relations.

However, he added that the Senate can't confirm nominees if the Trump administration hasn't nominated someone and knocked the president over the pace of making nominations. ADVERTISEMENT "The Trump administration took nearly two years before it even bothered to nominate Gen. Abizaid, leaving a gaping hole in our diplomatic posture to Saudi Arabia and the region," he said. "To go nearly two years without putting forward a nominee is a failure of leadership pure and simple." Joseph Westphal was the last Senate-confirmed ambassador to Saudi Arabia under the Obama administration and left the post in early January 2017. Christopher Henzel has since served as chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh. Abizaid Abizaid served as the head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and spent his military career leading missions in Iraq, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. He also served as deputy commander of CENTCOM from 2003-2007.

His confirmation comes as the U.S.-Saudi relationship has remained strained on Capitol Hill.

Congress passed a resolution forcing Trump to pull troops in or "affecting" Yemen within 30 days unless they are fighting al Qaeda. The White House has pledged that Trump will veto the measure, setting him up to issue his second veto in roughly a month.

Lawmakers are also frustrated by the Trump administration's response to Khashoggi's death. Khashoggi, a Virginia resident, was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.