Joe Kennedy set to be confirmed as US envoy to Northern Ireland

US president Joe Biden is set to announce former congressman Joe Kennedy as his special envoy to Northern Ireland, The Irish Times understands.

The appointment is likely to be made before the end of the year, a move which will allow the White House to sidestep new rules coming in to force from January which will require nominees to special envoy posts to be ratified by the US senate.

There are fears that if the announcement from the State Department is not made until the new year the appointment could be delayed as a result of senate procedures.

Once the appointment is confirmed by the US State Department and by the White House, the post, which has been vacant since former president Donald Trump’s appointee Mick Mulvaney stepped down in January 2021 in the wake of the January 6th attack on Capitol Hill, will be filled.

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It comes at a particularly sensitive time for US relations with Ireland, the UK and the EU as Brexit negotiations are still ongoing, with significant issues about the Northern Ireland protocol as yet unresolved.

According to one unnamed US official quoted by the Wall Street Journal on Friday evening, Mr Kennedy’s portfolio is likely to focus on economic issues rather than politics, a reflection of what the US sees are currently the most pressing issues. “He will be very much focused on advancing US economic engagement and people to people ties,” the official said.

Mr Biden has repeatedly said he will not support any steps taken by the UK government that weaken the Belfast Agreement, and any special envoy is likely to adopt a similar approach to negotiations.

Mr Kennedy is the grandson of Robert Kennedy who was assassinated in 1968 while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for the presidential election which was held in November of that year.

The 42-year-old was a congressman representing Massachusetts between 2013 and early in 2021, but chose not to contest his seat in the 2020 election and instead sought the Democratic nomination for the senate elections challenging sitting Democratic senator Ed Markey. He lost the primary and subsequently stepped back from politics.