Trump nominates Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt as Saudi ambassador

On Monday, September 14, 2026, President Donald Trump nominated Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, a post vacant since January 2025 under a chargé d'affaires. Hunt, a West Point graduate and Army veteran who served in Iraq and two years as a Saudi diplomatic liaison, said he understands "the strategic importance of the partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia" and will advance Trump's "peace through strength." He, his brother and sister all graduated West Point and served in combat. Hunt finished third in the March 2026 Texas GOP Senate primary behind Ken Paxton and John Cornyn, endorsed Paxton after Trump, and is not seeking House reelection. In 2024 House Ethics investigated $74,000 in campaign club spending; nothing came of it. Trump also named Kimberly Greenwood, wife of singer Lee Greenwood, ambassador to Barbados and six other Eastern Caribbean nations. She thanked Trump on Instagram for "this extraordinary opportunity to serve"; Lee Greenwood said she worked with him 18 years at Miss Universe. Nominees for Haiti, Somalia, Djibouti and Suriname were announced the same day. The pick comes amid U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, and Hormuz disruptions, with a Saudi nuclear deal linked to the Abraham Accords. Contested: no contested claims found in the record.