UK: Politico-Biden Admin To Appoint Fmr Rep. Kennedy As NI Special Envoy

Politico reporting that the Biden administration is set to put forward former Democratic Congressman Joe Kennedy as the White House's special envoy to Northern Ireland. Nominating Kennedy, the grandson of former US Senator and Attorney General Robert Kennedy who was assassinated in 1968, could prove a controversial decision in Northern Ireland particularly among the unionist community.

• The Kennedy political dynasty, hailing from a staunch Massachusetts Irish Catholic background, are viewed among some unionists in Northern Ireland and Great Britain as at best tacit supporters of Irish unification and at worst direct contributors to and supporters of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the Troubles. Biden's own background as a Catholic with Irish roots is only likely to reinforce a view among hard-line unionists as the US being an unreliable partner in Northern Ireland protocol negotiations.
• The position of presidential special envoy to Northern Ireland has been empty since Jan 2021, when President Donald Trump's former CoS Mick Mulvaney resigned from the position. With upcoming changes to rules surrounding special envoys, Kennedy will face a confirmatory vote in the Senate before he is able to take up his position.
• Politicians across the political spectrum in the US have sought to encourage EU and UK to reach an agreement over the Northern Ireland protocol, with warnings to Westminster in particular not to risk the Good Friday/Belfast agreement that codified an end to the multi-decade violence.