Prioritize presidential allies as ambassadors to key strategic posts

Done

Printed page 174 6. Department of State

“Political ambassadors with strong personal relationships with the President should be prioritized for key strategic posts such as Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).”

What has happened

Aug 7, 2026 Done
The fifth and last of the named posts was filled on the same pattern: David Brat, the former Republican congressman, was confirmed as Ambassador to Australia on 2026-08-07. All five posts the Quote singles out — Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and NATO — are now held by political appointees with personal or political ties to the President rather than by career officers.
- Senate roll call vote 119-2-225: confirmation of David Brat to be Ambassador to the Commonwealth of Australia
  Primary Congress Aug 7, 2026
Sep 19, 2025 Partially done
A fourth named post went to a political ally: Michael Waltz, the President's first National Security Adviser, was confirmed as Representative to the United Nations on 2025-09-19 (and as Representative to the General Assembly on 2025-09-29).
- Senate roll call vote 119-1-530: confirmation of Michael G. Waltz to be Representative of the United States to the United Nations
  Primary Congress Sep 19, 2025
Apr 29, 2025 Partially done
Three of the five posts the Quote names were filled with political appointees close to the President in April 2025: Matthew Whitaker (former Acting Attorney General) at NATO, confirmed 2025-04-01; George Glass (a Trump donor and first-term ambassador to Portugal) in Tokyo, confirmed 2025-04-08; Warren Stephens (a major Trump donor) in London, confirmed 2025-04-29. None is a career Foreign Service officer.
- Senate roll call vote 119-1-157: confirmation of Matthew Whitaker to be U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of NATO
  Primary Congress Apr 1, 2025
- Senate roll call vote 119-1-195: confirmation of George Glass to be Ambassador to Japan
  Primary Congress Apr 8, 2025
- Senate roll call vote 119-1-217: confirmation of Warren Stephens to be Ambassador to the United Kingdom
  Primary Congress Apr 29, 2025

Research log

What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence

Research notes

An appointment ask. We started from the site’s roster of people credited in the Mandate: it carries a current office for Pete Hoekstra (Canada) but for none of the five posts named here, so the Senate’s own roll-call pages were used. The five confirmations were found in the Senate nomination records from congress.gov, and each confirmation’s roll-call vote page was opened and checked to name the nominee and the post.

Action: appoint
Object: Ambassadorships to Australia, Japan, the U.K., the U.N., and NATO
ID: 468