Trump names former Republican congressman as new US ambassador to Australia

{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","dateModified":"2026-04-28T00:44:22Z","datePublished":"2026-04-27T22:13:35Z","description":"Economics professor and former Virginia representative David Brat came to prominence as part of the Tea Party movement when he won a spectacular primary victory in 2014.","headline":"Trump names former Republican congressman as new US ambassador to Australia","keywords":"Foreign relations, Just in, Donald Trump, US politics, Trump's White House, USA, Trump diplomacy, Screens Ooh! SMH, Screens Ooh! The Age, Screens Ooh! BT, Screens Ooh! WAT","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michael Koziol","jobTitle":"North America correspondent","url":"/by/michael-koziol-hvf7q"}],"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-names-new-us-ambassador-to-australia-20260428-p5zrk1.html","@type":"WebPage"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","height":"1322.6666666666665","url":"https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.32385604907522714%2C$multiply_0.7025%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1059%2C$x_27%2C$y_230/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/a0b551e3c728d4838d8f7b15ba83e23179dc8f94","width":"744"},"isAccessibleForFree":false,"hasPart":[{"@type":"WebPageElement","isAccessibleForFree":false,"cssSelector":".paywall"}],"publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","name":"The Sydney Morning Herald","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","height":"628","url":"https://www.smh.com.au/metro-assets/assets/static/smh.png","width":"1200"},"url":"https://www.smh.com.au"},"isPartOf":{"@type":["CreativeWork","Product"],"name":"The Sydney Morning Herald","productID":"smh.com.au:webonly"}}{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/world","name":"World"},"position":1},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america","name":"North America"},"position":2},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/topic/foreign-relations-1m35","name":"Foreign relations"},"position":3}]}AdvertisementUpdatedWorldNorth AmericaForeign relationsTrump names former Republican congressman as new US ambassador to AustraliaMichael KoziolUpdated April 28, 2026 — 10:44am,first published April 28, 2026 — 8:13amSaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareAAAWashington: US President Donald Trump has nominated a former Republican congressman to become the next American ambassador to Australia, 15 months into his presidency.Trump named former Virginia representative and academic David Brat for the role on Monday (US time). As per protocol, the nominee must be confirmed by the US Senate before taking up the job.David Brat has been named the next US ambassador to Australia.APThere has been no US ambassador in Canberra since Caroline Kennedy departed in late 2024, although it is not unusual for presidents to take some time to appoint ambassadors to Australia.A conservative Republican who was part of the Tea Party movement, Brat came to prominence in 2014 when he achieved what The New York Times called “one of the most stunning primary election upsets in congressional history”, defeating the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Eric Cantor, in the Virginia district.AdvertisementHe campaigned largely on the grounds that Cantor was not conservative enough on the issue of immigration. Cantor had been serving his seventh term.Brat, 61, was born in Detroit and…

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