Jane Hartley, Joe Biden's new pick for UK ambassador, 'not seasoned enough'

Joe Biden has finally confirmed his ambassador to London after a year in office, a delayed appointment that comes as his agenda stalls and poll numbers plummet.

The White House attempted a reset of Mr Biden’s floundering presidency after a sluggish first year in office, announcing a batch of top-level diplomats and a new communication strategy it hoped would bolster his dire approval ratings.

Jane Hartley, 71, a former television executive and veteran Democratic supporter, was announced as the second-ever woman to the prestigious posting - typically one of the first to be announced during any presidency.

Ms Hartley was reportedly not Mr Biden’s first choice. Michael Bloomberg, the former New York mayor, reportedly turned down the offer.

Having raised around £2million for Barack Obama's presidential re-election campaign in 2012, the former president appointed her ambassador to France for three years in 2014.

Mr Biden, 79, has been slow to nominate new ambassadors, while a handful of Republicans in the Senate have blocked almost all those that have been put forward for confirmation over unrelated policy objections.

Around half of the 186 US ambassadorial posts around the world are vacant, including important allies Italy, Germany, Australia and India.

The president is yet to even name a representative to Ukraine, sending a signal to the country of its level of support in the face of a threatened Russian invasion.

Brett Bruen, a former US diplomat who served as White House director of global engagement under Mr Obama’s administration, criticised Mr Biden’s delays in making key appointments, as well as his decision to fill them with political appointees.

Mr Biden appears to have rewarded loyalty over experience, with Ms Hartley publicly supporting Mr Biden early on in the primaries before it was clear he would win the Democratic nomination.

Ms Hartley started her career working for the Democratic National Convention before briefly serving as an official in the Jimmy Carter administration in the 1970s, but spent much of the next few decades in the private sector, working leading two international economic policy consultancies - the Observatory Group and the G7 Group.

New York-born Ms Harley, who is married to investment banker and Evercore Partners chief executive Ralph Schlosstei, served brief stints as ambassador to France and Monaco between 2014 and 2017.

Following the 2015 massacre at the Charlie Hebdo office, Mrs Hartley proposed that Jeff Koons create an artwork to be offered to the City of Paris in homage to the victims. The resultant work, "Bouquet of Tulips", raised objections in the French art world for being “inappropriate”.

Mr Bruen told The Telegraph that the US “absolutely needs someone more seasoned” to nurture the so-called Special Relationship.

“This is an essential relationship for restoring America's credibility and influence across the globe. We need someone with exceptional skills and decades of experience,” said Mr Bruen, President of Global Situation Room consulting firm. “Because if we get this wrong, if we make one mistake in London, it will reverberate around the world. We need to understand how much has changed since Trump.

“These aren't the good ole' days when Hartley and I served under President Obama. Our position in the world has weakened significantly and we no longer have the luxury of sending amateur diplomats abroad.”

The UK posting is traditionally seen as one of the least demanding due to the countries’ close ties.

However, it comes at a critical time as Mr Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson try to cement ties with one of its closest allies despite differences over Brexit.

The US president has in recent months made a number of formal nominations to top diplomatic positions, tapping a mix of career foreign service officers, prominent donors and politicians from both parties.