Sen. Jim DeMint dropped his hold on a pair of executive branch nominees Thursday after receiving assurances from the Obama administration regarding the upcoming election in Honduras. The South Carolina Republican had been advocating that the White House recognize Honduras’ Nov. 29 election regardless of its outcome. Pleased with the administration’s response after several weeks of negotiations, DeMint dropped his holds on the nominations of Arturo Valenzuela to be assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere affairs and Thomas Shannon to be U.S. ambassador to Brazil.“Thanks to the Obama administration’s welcome reversal, the new government sworn into office next January can expect the full support of the United States and I hope the entire international community,— DeMint said in a statement.