Two of the strongest Republican critics of the Obama administration’s handling of the attack on the diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, offered strong support nonetheless on Friday for the nomination of Victoria Nuland, who played a role in editing the much-disputed talking points about the incident.
Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina released a joint statement praising Ms. Nuland, whom President Obama nominated to be assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.
“Ambassador Victoria Nuland has a long and distinguished record of service to our nation in both Republican and Democrat administrations,†the senators said. “She is knowledgeable and well-versed on the major foreign policy issues as well as respected by foreign policy experts in both parties. We look forward to her upcoming confirmation hearings in the United States Senate.â€
The statement seemed to signal that Republicans would not punish Ms. Nuland for the Benghazi affair. As a State Department spokeswoman, she expressed concern about the original draft of talking points after the Sept. 11 attack in Libya, pressing to delete references to past C.I.A. warnings about possible dangers because they might give grist to Congressional critics.
But Ms. Nuland has the advantage of strong ties in both parties, having been a career foreign service officer under Republican and Democratic administrations. She was deputy national security adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney and ambassador to NATO under President George W. Bush, and she stayed on under Mr. Obama to work for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
