 Ambassador Hoagland was nominated for the United States ambassadorship to Armenia on May 23, 2006.His predecessor John Marshall Evans was recalled from his position in May 2006 after publicly speaking about the Armenian Genocide.On August 1, 2006, the Armenian Assembly of America announced that Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Joe Biden together with Senator John Kerry requested a hold on Hoagland's nomination, claiming that he hoped the Administration "will find a way to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide."