Huma Abedin

13 Jul, 2009 Us news

After years as one of Washington’s most eligible bachelors, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn, Queens) is engaged to Huma Abedin, a glamorous top aide to Secretary of State Clinton.

A source close to the couple confirmed that Weiner, 44, proposed to Abedin, 33, over Memorial Day weekend.

No date’s been set, but the power couple is “thrilled” about the upcoming nuptials, the source said.

So is another woman in Weiner’s life.

“I think it’s wonderful,” the pol’s mother, Fran, told the Daily News. “She’s lovely. What more can I say?”

She said it wasn’t clear how their wedding ceremony might accommodate the pair’s different faiths. Weiner, a staunch defender of Israel in Congress, is Jewish; Abedin is Muslim.

“Anything that makes them happy,” Fran Weiner said.

Weiner, who went public with the romance last spring after brushing off months of rumors, ran for mayor in 2005. He mulled running again this year, but ruled it out in May, claiming a desire to focus on Congress – and “build a family.”

Abedin was born in Michigan to a Pakistani mother and an Indian father. She grew up in Saudi Arabia and attended college in the United States.

After interning in the First Lady’s office in 1996, Abedin became a linchpin of Clinton’s entourage, and was described by admirers as maintaining both her flawless couture and her calm in the throes of Clinton’s presidential campaign.