Senators grill State Department nominee as proxy for wider Iran-deal debate John Hudson, The Washington Post March 3, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail WASHINGTON - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee grilled President Joe Biden's nominee for the No. 2 position at the State Department on Wednesday, homing in on her role as the chief negotiator for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal during the Obama administration. The nominee for deputy secretary of state, Wendy Sherman, faces a difficult confirmation process as Republicans and some Democrats raise concerns about the Biden administration's promise to reenter the deal, even as some groups say the White House is moving too slowly on restoring an agreement that President Donald Trump abandoned.