The White House announced Wednesday it has nominated Cheryl Saban, the wife of Univision chairman Haim Saban, to be a representative of the United States to the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Cheryl Saban is described as an "author, philanthropist, and advocate for women and children" in the White House announcement, serving on boards of the Saban Research Institute, Girls Inc., and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Her husband founded Saban Entertainment—the production studio behind "Power Rangers"—in the 1980s. Haim Saban is a major Democratic donor, personally giving more than $1 million to Democratic candidates and committees in the 2012 election cycle. He has donated at least $333,333 to the Obama-affiliated Super PAC Priorities USA, which is best known for an ad suggesting Republican nominee Mitt Romney was responsible for a woman's death, as well as $325,520 to Majority PAC, a Super PAC touted by Sen. Harry Reid (D., Nev.). Patriot Majority, an arm of Majority PAC, launched a campaign in August targeting Charles and David Koch. Reid, meanwhile, has persisted with claims that Romney may not have paid income taxes.
Cheryl Saban’s nomination comes less than a month after her husband penned a New York Times op-ed defending President Obama’s Israel record.
The position was a marked turn for the Egyptian-born Israeli-American, who criticized Obama personally in 2011 for not visiting Israel, and labeled in 2010 the Obama administration "really left leftists, so far to the left there’s not much space left between them and the wall."