Obama's Ambassador to El Salvador Could Return to U.S.

WASHINGTON – President Obama's ambassador to El Salvador may be heading home at year's end.

Old, unfounded rumors that her boyfriend was a Cuban spy and new conservative outrage over a summertime op-ed on gay rights could be her undoing.

Mari Carmen Aponte has served as ambassador in San Salvador since September 2010. Facing Republican opposition to her nomination, Obama made her a recess appointment. But her temporary tenure is about to run out and GOP lawmakers are resisting administration efforts to secure her Senate confirmation.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved her nomination on a 10-9 party-line vote last week. Her fate in the full Senate is uncertain in the final days of the legislative session.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus plans a news conference Tuesday to push for her nomination.