Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is the new US ambassador to Japan after being confirmed in a spate of nomination successes for the Biden administration this weekend.

       The Senate voted 48-21 to confirm Mr Emanuel, who also served as chief-of-staff in the Obama White House, despite steep opposition from progressives over his handling of the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald.

       During Mr Emanuel’s tenure as Chicago mayor, video of the Black teenager’s shooting by a white police officer was held back from release by city officials for more than a year.

       When the video was made public, it led to widespread protests as it revealed that the boy was running away from the officer when he was shot.

       The controversy revealed a blind spot for the Obama wing of the Democratic Party, which saw its reputation sour with activists in the city where the former president spent his formative years, and plans to construct his presidential library.

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       Two Democratic senators, Jeff Merkley and Ed Markey, both voted no to Mr Emanuel taking up the post in Japan.

       Democratic members of the House, including New York Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement, fiercely criticised President Joe Biden’s decision to nominate Mr Emanuel.

       "When elected officials use their power against Black lives, they should not receive this honor," Mr Bowman tweeted earlier this year.

       Mr Emanuel’s nomination and confirmation appeared to be a nod to the Biden administration’s ongoing ties to the Obama years, when Mr Biden served as vice president.

       The former mayor’s confirmation came alongside 40 other ambassador nominees and nine federal judges.

       Many nominations had been held up for weeks by conservatives in the upper chamber. However it sailed through overnight after Democrats agreed to a vote on legislation from Texas Senator Ted Cruz to impose sanctions on the construction of the Russia-Germany Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.

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       “At the end of the day, we will have invoked cloture on two circuit judges, confirmed nine district court judges, confirmed 41 ambassadors, and confirmed five other members of President Biden’s team,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at the end of Friday night’s marathon session.

       “It’s been a long day but a good day’s work. I thank my colleagues,” he added.