He was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on June 29, 2006.

Vasquez was sworn into office on September 7, 2006, by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and served in the position until 2009.

[2] Vasquez has been awarded five honorary doctorate degrees and has served as a Trustee/Professor at Chapman University, Orange, California.

Vasquez worked in the public sector for 22 years before his Peace Corps nomination, starting as a police officer for the city of Orange, California.

[1] He later worked as deputy appointments secretary for Governor George Deukmejian, followed by service as Chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

[5] The Orange County bankruptcy changed the course of his political ambitions, eventually leading Vasquez to reach out to his Republican colleagues for help in re-creating his career.

[7] The Democratic nominee spoke Spanish, Vasquez said, but because of his liberal policies, "he doesn't speak our language.

[22] Vasquez visited 60 countries during his tenure as Director, meeting with volunteers in the field to advance the agency's mission and goals of promoting world peace and friendship.

In step with those changes, I consider it a high priority to expand the diversity of the Peace Corps so that it becomes a true reflection of America.

"[23] Vasquez had a personal experience when he was visiting Morocco as Peace Corps Director that brought home to him the importance of his diversity initiatives.

[citation needed] Vasquez argued unsuccessfully for continued inclusion of the Peace Corps in that program,[citation needed] and the Peace Corps was removed from the National Call to Service program on December 22, 2005, when the United States Senate completed congressional action on the Department of Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006.

[30] His trips aim to increase visibility for the anti-hunger efforts of the United States and the international community around the world.

[31] Vasquez said his life had been transformed while Director of the Peace Corps by the things he had witnessed traveling all over the world and recounted that once while in the Caribbean he had encountered a boy to whom he gave a piece of candy.

[32] Vasquez visited a small sausage factory built with support from USAID that now employs 12 people and is providing food to the community.