COLUMBIA--U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden doesn't expect any problems should President Bush nominate House Speaker David Wilkins for the open ambassador post to Canada.

"I expect he'd receive a pretty good reception," Biden, D-Delaware, said of the Greenville Republican. Biden is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which handles confirmations for ambassadorships.

Biden was here for the state Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, a key fund-raising event.

Bush has not announced who would replace Paul Cellucci, who left the Canadian post last month. Nonetheless, speculation has mounted for weeks that Wilkins is under consideration.