A Senate Foreign Relations Committee spokesperson tells me that a confirmation hearing has been scheduled for Obama's pick to be the new US ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill. The career diplomat has drawn opposition from some Republicans who don't like his inexperience in the Middle East and, more importantly I think, what they perceive as his soft line on North Korea. The hearing will be next Wednesday, March 25.
(Hill does, however, have a friend in Marty.)
--Michael Crowley