Donald Trump has nominated former Republican congressman David Brat to become the United States ambassador to Australia, ending a long vacancy in the post. At his Senate confirmation hearing, Brat said he would focus on critical minerals, defence cooperation and the Indo-Pacific partnership, all central issues in the US–Australia alliance.

Brat described himself as a tennis “fanatic” and said he admired Australia, although he mistakenly referred to Adelaide as “Adeline”. The former Virginia representative, who served in Congress from 2014 to 2018, backed continued progress on the AUKUS submarine pact and said he wanted to counter China’s military build-up; there was no indication senators would block his appointment.