Former Virginia congressman David Brat has been confirmed by the US Senate as the next US ambassador to Australia. The role had been vacant for 18 months.
Brat's confirmation was among more than 70 votes pushed through the Senate by Republicans on Friday, Washington time, before the summer recess. Donald Trump nominated Brat in April.
The 61-year-old served two terms in Congress until 2018 and was vice-president of business relations at Virginia’s Liberty University. The ambassador role had been vacant since November 2024, when Joe Biden’s ambassador, Caroline Kennedy, left the post.
The confirmation occurs amid tense US-Australia relations, with Trump levelling 12.5% tariffs on many Australian exports in July. Australia was on a list of 54 economies hit with the tariffs due to what the US claimed was a failure “to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor”.
Brat's arrival in Australia will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Anzus treaty. This security pact covers defence of the Pacific.