WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Dick Cheney defended President Bush's recess appointment of GOP contributor Sam Fox to be ambassador to Belgium Thursday, even as some Democrats denounced the move.

"I know Sam well," Cheney said on the Rush Limbaugh radio program. "He's a good friend of mine and has been for many years. I think he's a great appointment. He'll do a superb job as our ambassador to Belgium."

Senate Democrats sharply criticized Fox for his 2004 donation to the group "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," which ran controversial ads critical of then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's Vietnam service.

Sen. Kerry led the charge in the Senate Judiciary committee to block Fox's appointment, and the White House ultimately withdrew his name from consideration on March 28.

The president then appointed Fox to the ambassadorship on Wednesday while Congress was in recess, a move which will enable Fox to serve in the post until the end of 2008 without the need for a Senate confirmation.

"I was delighted when the president made the recess appointment," Cheney said Thursday. "He clearly has that authority under the Constitution. And you're right, John Kerry basically shot it down."

For his part, Kerry said of the appointment in a statement, "Our country would be stronger if this Administration spent more time getting body armor for our soldiers in Iraq than it did helping their powerful friends."