By Karen Freifeld

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate confirmed on Thursday that former Pentagon official Alan Estevez will serve as the under secretary for commerce for industry security. He oversees restrictions on imports to countries such Russia and China.

Estevez will be the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security. This Bureau controls exports to prevent technology and weapons from Russia’s industrial and military industries in the wake of its war with Ukraine.

The bureau’s officials helped to create a unprecedented alliance of 33 countries that restricted exports to Russia in order to slow the invasion and stop the war effort. This bureau is also at the forefront of the U.S.-China technological battle.

“Commerce is at the forefront of the Biden-Harris Administration’s response to Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine and many other critical national security priorities, and I appreciate the Senate’s action,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement on Estevez’s confirmation. “We look forward to him getting to work.”

Russia describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special operations.”

Estevez was a Deloitte Consulting executive who worked for 36 years in the Department of Defense. Estevez was an executive with Deloitte Consulting and represented the department on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. This committee reviews national security investments.

In part due to his track record with China, Estevez was seen as a solid choice for the Commerce Department job when President Joe Biden chose him. This bureau is able to control Chinese businesses that are dependent upon U.S. technology.

His confirmation was thwarted by Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Democratic Senate Robert Menendez.

After Estevez stated that he would be “aggressively” exporting tech to China, Cotton decided not to oppose the bill in November.

Menendez delayed the confirmation for Thursday due to concerns over U.S. gun export control. After having made progress on the matter, Menendez gave his blessing.

“Secretary Raimondo and her team at the Commerce Department have engaged constructively on the critical issues that I raised,” Menendez said in a statement.

Kevin Wolf was once considered a potential candidate for the post of under secretary.

Wolf explained that “More than ever is being expected from the Commerce Department’s export control agencies,” Wolf claimed. “It is essential to have an Undersecretary on the job.”