The ambassador role had been vacant since November 2024, when Joe Biden\u2019s ambassador, Caroline Kennedy, left the post.<\/p>\n
Anthony Albanese in April said he would work with anyone Trump nominated, when asked to respond to Brat\u2019s earlier claims that US intelligence agencies conspired to remove Trump from office.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe respect the sovereignty of countries to put forward ambassadors just like we expect our choices to be endorsed,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, welcomed Brat\u2019s appointment in a statement on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cHe will find Australia to be a warm host and a good friend,\u201d she said. \u201cWe share his priorities of critical minerals, defence cooperation and partnership in the Indo-Pacific. Together we will strengthen the alliance in the interests of both our countries.\u201d<\/p>\n The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, told reporters on Saturday it was important to have the position now filled.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bilateral relationship is of course a deeply important one and we welcome the appointment of the new ambassador.\u201d<\/p>\n Brat was described by Time magazine in 2010 as a \u201cTea Party professor\u201d and an enthusiast of the author Ayn Rand.<\/p>\n In a 2011 paper, he argued that capitalism and Christianity should merge, writing: \u201cIf we all did the right thing and had the guts to spread the word, we would not need the government to backstop every action we take.\u201d<\/p>\n Brat was swept into Congress in 2014 when he defeated the then House of Representatives majority leader, Eric Cantor, in a primary. He lost his seat in 2018 to Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who is now the governor of Virginia.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | When needed<\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The confirmation comes amid tense US-Australia relations, with Trump levelling 12.5% tariffs on many Australian exports<\/a> in July. Australia was on a list of 54 economies hit with the tariffs due to what the US claimed was a failure \u201cto impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor\u201d.<\/p>\n At the time, the trade minister, Don Farrell, called for the tariffs to be removed, saying they were inconsistent with Australia\u2019s free-trade agreement with the US.<\/p>\n Brat\u2019s arrival in Australia will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Anzus treaty, a security pact over defence of the Pacific, and comes after the Albanese government announced in May it would instead buy three second-hand American nuclear submarines<\/a> as part of the $370bn Aukus deal, instead of two second-hand and one new as originally intended.<\/p>\n While the Albanese government has remained supportive of Aukus, there has been growing disquiet from some within Labor about the plan. Former cabinet minister Ed Husic said in June<\/a> that the change meant \u201cwe are not going to get the deal that was promised to us\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2998.jpg\")
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