This week saw a former high-ranking member of the Biden administration made ambassador to Israel.  

According to the Washington Post, Jack Lew was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday by a vote of 53 to 43 that broke down along partisan lines.

Republicans registered strong opposition

The paper noted that Lew, who previously served as treasury secretary under President Barack Obama, faced strong objections from Senate Republicans.

Jack Lew, President Biden’s nominee to become the next U.S. ambassador to Israel, faces a Senate confirmation test as the administration scrambles to prevent the eruption of violence there and in the Gaza Strip from spiraling into a larger regional war. https://t.co/KsZsv2ACHx

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 18, 2023

One of Lew's most vocal critics was Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, who pointed to a 2018 op-ed piece by Washington Post columnist Marc A. Thiessen.

In it, Thiessen slammed the Obama administration for having taken "lying to new heights" regarding its nuclear deal with Iran.

The columnist recalled how Lew once "assured the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that, under the nuclear accord, Iran “will continue to be denied access to the [U.S.] financial and commercial market."

Tom Cotton calls Lew "an Iranian sympathizer"

What's more, he maintained that "Iranian banks will not be able to clear U.S. dollars through New York, hold correspondent account relationships with U.S. financial institutions, or enter into financing arrangements with U.S. banks."

However, Thiessen pointed out how Senate investigators found that the Obama Treasury Department "granted a specific license that authorized a conversion of Iranian assets worth billions of U.S. dollars using the U.S. financial system," something Lew said "would not happen."

Cotton also took aim at Lew during an appearance earlier this month on "Fox News Sunday" with host Shannon Bream.

Jack Lew is an Iranian sympathizer who has no business being the U.S. ambassador to Israel. The Senate should not confirm him. pic.twitter.com/16mXB2W8gI

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) October 15, 2023

Cotton: Lew "helped Iran evade American sanctions"

"Jack Lew is an Iranian sympathizer who has no business being our ambassador. It's bad for the United States. It's bad for Israel to have an Iran sympathizer as ambassador to that country," Cotton declared.

"He helped Iran evade the American sanctions and he lied to Congress about it," the Republican lawmaker went on to allege.

Cotton went on to assert that Lew "defended the Obama administration's refusal to use our veto at the United Nations in the final days of the Obama administration to protect Israel from antisemitic resolutions."