The U.S. Senate has confirmed former football player Herschel Walker as the next ambassador to the Bahamas—the first person to hold the position in nearly 15 years.

NBC News reports Walker was approved in a 51–47 vote that followed party lines. The U.S. Embassy in Nassau has been run by acting officials since 2011.

Walker, who previously ran unsuccessfully for Senate in Georgia, played for several NFL teams, including Dallas, Minnesota, Philadelphia, and the New York Giants. He won the Heisman Trophy while at the University of Georgia.

Walker’s 2022 Senate campaign drew attention for controversies involving his personal finances and past behavior. Weeks before that election, reports surfaced that he had paid for an abortion in 2009 despite campaigning on an anti-abortion platform. Walker confirmed he gave a $700 check to an ex-partner but denied knowing it was for an abortion, telling NBC News, “I gave her a check, but I had no idea that was what it was for.”

Herschel also came under scrutiny for a number of verbal flubs and awkward public statements he made during his previous political campaigns. In a 2022 speech, the Heisman winner referred to himself as “220 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal.” He also raised eyebrows with his claim that he graduated from the University of Georgia, despite leaving his junior year to play in the NFL, and that he worked as an FBI agent despite never serving in the agency.  

Supporters of his nomination said his name recognition and public presence could strengthen U.S. cultural diplomacy in the Caribbean.

The ambassador post has been vacant since 2011, when Nicole Avant stepped down. Former President Barack Obama nominated Cassandra Butts for the position in 2014 and again in 2015, but the Senate never confirmed her before her death in 2016.