Biden nominates David Cohen, former Jewish federation vice chair, as US ambassador to Canada

(JTA) — David Cohen, a Comcast executive and former vice chairman of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, is President Joe Biden’s pick to be U.S. ambassador to Canada, the White House has announced.

In addition to being a lobbyist for the communications giant, Cohen is a longtime Democratic fundraiser who was chief of staff to Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell in the 1990s. He also served as head of diversity and inclusion efforts at Comcast.

Cohen grew up in Highland Park, a New Jersey town with a high percentage of Jewish residents.

“Federation involvement is in my DNA,” he told the Jewish Exponent of Philadelphia in 2013. “In my family, it would be unthinkable not to be involved in Federation and the Jewish community.”

Cohen has had close ties to Biden and hosted his first presidential fundraiser of the 2020 campaign. The White House announcement on the choice of Cohen was made Wednesday.

“His Senate confirmation can’t come soon enough for the Canada-U.S. relationship,” Scotty Greenwood, president and CEO of the Canadian American Business Council, said in a statement.