Politics
After Nudge From Trump, Senate Sets Fast Pace in Confirming His Ambassadors
Late last month, President Trump began grumbling — first quietly and privately, then publicly — that the Senate was moving too slowly to confirm his picks to fill highly sought ambassadorships around the world.
Mere weeks later, Senate Republicans have vastly stepped up their pace in approving his nominees, installing nearly a dozen mostly wealthy loyalists as envoys to key countries and moving more quickly than other presidents have in the past few decades.
The flurry of confirmations — 10 in Mr. Trump’s first 100 days in office — has already outpaced his most recent predecessors and that of his first term, and it comes as the president and his team have undertaken a broader effort to reshape the State Department and U.S. diplomacy. Unlike some of his cabinet nominees, most have sailed through with unanimous Republican support and at least some backing from Democrats.
That was the case on Tuesday, when the Senate voted 67 to 29 to confirm David Perdue, the former senator from Georgia and businessman, to be the U.S. ambassador to China.
His approval did not come as a surprise. Mr. Perdue maintains close relationships with many of his former colleagues and at his hearing earlier this month, he was spared critical questions on topics such as his past criticism of across-the-board tariffs or when he boasted about frequently moving American jobs overseas during his time as a business executive.
Instead, Mr. Perdue said he would dutifully carry out the president’s agenda and, like other Trump appointees to serve as top diplomats around the globe, affirmed his commitment to project an “America First” agenda while stationed abroad.
“President Trump’s America First strategy is not isolation, it’s just the reverse,” Mr. Perdue said during his hearing in early April, arguing that an intense focus on strengthening domestic manufacturing would enhance the partnership between the world’s two largest economies. “America will be a stronger ally and partner by rebuilding our strategic supply chains at home and with our friends.”
Waiting in the wings are dozens more ambassadorial nominations that the White House has sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, setting the stage for what the Trump administration hopes will be a rapid transformation at the top of U.S. diplomatic ranks abroad.
Most of those confirmed so far or in line to be are extremely wealthy and politically or personally connected to Mr. Trump, such as Thomas Barrack, a billionaire private equity investor who has known Mr. Trump for decades and who was confirmed late Wednesday to serve as ambassador to Turkey. The Senate also worked late Wednesday evening, voting by an overwhelming margin to confirm Tilman Fertitta, the Texas billionaire owner of the Houston Rockets N.B.A. team, as the next U.S. ambassador to Italy.
The unusually speedy action by the Senate, usually known for its slow-moving deliberation, is a point of pride for Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader.
“We’re going to continue to confirm the president’s ambassadors as expeditiously as possible,” Mr. Thune said from the Senate floor on Monday morning as he unveiled the slate of votes to confirm several overseas posts.
Senator Jim Risch, Republican of Idaho, who leads the foreign affairs panel, said in a statement that the Senate was moving “at a record pace” to confirm Mr. Trump’s ambassadors.
The momentum began to shift after Mr. Trump expressed frustration in late March over the slow pace at which his nominees for ambassadorships were being confirmed. During a meeting at the White House with a number of unconfirmed nominees, Mr. Trump criticized the delay, prompting Senate Republicans to prioritize his ambassadorial picks over other confirmations.
“We’re being delayed as much as possible by Democrats,” Mr. Trump said during the meeting.
Although Democrats do not have enough seats to derail any of Mr. Trump’s nominees, some have sought to obstruct the process by placing holds on nominations and requiring that each post be considered and voted on individually. The move prompted Mr. Trump to lash out, accusing Senate Democrats of jeopardizing national security.
“A process that should take a matter of minutes is forced into taking months,” Mr. Trump wrote in a social media post late last month, adding that it was “so hard to watch as Highly Qualified and Respected Ambassadors, who we desperately need representing our Country in Faraway Lands, are purposefully meant to wait.”
Critics of Mr. Trump’s picks, however, argue that many are unqualified for the roles. Among them is Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, who has spent much of the year drawing large crowds at his “Fight the Oligarchy” tour. He pointed to the appointments of wealthy donors and billionaires as evidence of systemic corruption.
“This is just one more indication of the corruption of our campaign finance system: Billionaires not only buy elections and presidencies, they buy top jobs in the White House and important ambassadorships representing our country around the world,” he said in a statement.
Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, has taken the lead in opposing State Department nominees and said he would seek procedural ways to delay each pick from moving forward, but Republicans have trudged ahead through the lengthy process anyway.
And other Democrats are not inclined to try to stand in the way. Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, has broken with her party more than any other member of the caucus in supporting Mr. Trump’s ambassadorial picks.
Out of the 10 confirmed, she has backed eight. Two of those times she was the only Democrat supporting the nominee, though she was never the deciding vote. In an interview, she said she did not see supporting Mr. Trump’s nominees as tantamount to backing his efforts to upend American foreign policy.
“I don’t see trying to put ambassadors in positions as an effort to reshape diplomacy,” Ms. Shaheen said ahead of her vote in support of Mr. Perdue. “It is in America’s interest to have ambassadors on the ground who can defend American interests in countries around the world,” she said, adding that she had been disappointed that during the Biden administration, Senate Republicans had held up many appointments.
When asked about the approach of her Democratic colleagues who have sought to block nominations, she simply said: “Well, you have to talk to them about their views.”
Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, a member of the foreign affairs committee who regularly meets with ambassadors, said that Mr. Trump’s picks to serve as top diplomats were not as concerning to him as other foreign policy changes Mr. Trump had instituted.
“I think the biggest impact on our standing in the world has been the crushing of U.S.A.I.D., the almost complete elimination of the significance and power of our foreign aid programs,” Mr. Coons said on Tuesday, moments before voting to confirm Mr. Perdue. “So they can prioritize confirming a few ambassadors, but it won’t change the very negative impact on our standing in the world of his recent making.”
By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Gilad Thaler, Jon Miller, Stephanie Swart, Rafaela Balster, Whitney Shefte and Nikolay Nikolov
May 29, 2026
Politics
Federal judge orders Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Center, says only Congress can rename it
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A federal judge on Friday ordered that President Donald Trump’s name be removed from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee, said the iconic venue cannot be renamed without an act of Congress, ruling that the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees overstepped its “statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming” the building.
As part of his ruling, the Trump administration will be required to take down all physical signage bearing Trump’s name and eliminate any references to a “Trump-Kennedy Center” from official materials.
TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER’S BOARD VOTES UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE $257M RENOVATIONS AND TWO-YEAR CLOSURE
A sign is displayed on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts building. (Getty Images)
“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so,” Cooper wrote. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”
Roma Daravi, the Trump Kennedy Center vice president of public relations, said the board plans to appeal the decision.
“We will review the decision carefully though the reality remains — the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration – a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges,” Daravi said. “With $257 million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy.”
The ruling was part of a lawsuit filed by U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
BOARD VOTES KENNEDY CENTER TO BE RENAMED ‘TRUMP-KENNEDY CENTER,’ LEAVITT SAYS
President Donald Trump stands in the presidential box during a tour of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on March 17, 2025. On Friday, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s name must be removed from he iconic venue. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
Cooper previously denied a request for a preliminary injunction filed by a preservation group to block the planned two-year closure of the Kennedy Center for a rehabilitation project.
Trump secured $257 million from Congress as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to address disrepair and deferred maintenance of the Kennedy Center, which critics say has been neglected and mismanaged before Trump intervened.
The funds appropriated by Congress are spent on maintenance, repairs, security, and capital projects related to the building and site.
Beatty, who serves as an ex officio member of the board, praised Friday’s ruling.
“Today’s ruling rightly affirms that this administration’s efforts to rename and close the Center have no basis in law,” Beatty said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “The Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump. He has desecrated this sacred memorial for his own vanity. I am proud to have fought for the rule of law and to protect this sacred institution.”
Workers install Donald J. Trump signage above the existing Kennedy Center sign in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 19, 2025. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Trump’s name was added to the venue last December following a unanimous decision by the board. In February 2025, Trump was elected chairman of the Kennedy Center board after removing 18 trustees appointed by former President Joe Biden.
WASHINGTON — A framework agreement to end the U.S. war with Iran is all but settled, pending sign-off from the presidents of the two warring sides, President Trump said Friday, projecting optimism that a deal could finally be at hand.
Yet doubt cast a shadow over the diplomatic process entering the weekend as Trump faced a politically fraught decision to enter an agreement that would invariably require significant concessions to Tehran.
The negotiations have faced severe headwinds in recent days, with both sides accusing the other of violating a fragile ceasefire that has largely stopped the fighting since April.
On his Truth Social site, Trump said he had summoned his top aides to the White House Situation Room to decide on the deal.
The agreement would see an end to the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports and the removal of Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway through which 20% of the world’s energy supply passes each day. The strait, Trump wrote, will reopen with “no tolls” for “unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions.”
And “Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” Trump wrote, noting that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the key ingredient for nuclear weapons, “will be unearthed by the United States (which, it is agreed, is the only Country, along with China, with the mechanical capability of doing so!), in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED.”
“No money will be exchanged, until further notice,” he added.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said the deal would require Iran to disavow the continuation of its domestic nuclear program — a diplomatic feat never before achieved throughout a quarter-century of international negotiations over Iran’s nuclear work.
It is unclear whether Tehran would go that far. And Iran’s negotiators expressed defiance on Friday, stating that there was “no trust in guarantees or words” from the American side.
“No step will be taken before the other side acts first,” said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament. “We do not gain concessions through dialogue, but through missiles.”
It remains unclear when the Trump administration would ease sanctions on Iran, how extensive that relief would be, or what form it would take — questions that fueled Republican criticism of the Obama-era nuclear deal more than a decade ago.
The working diplomatic document would formally extend the existing ceasefire for 60 days, allowing for a more detailed negotiation to take place over Iran’s nuclear program. But the truce as it currently stands is on perilous ground. Iran launched a ballistic missile on Thursday at Kuwait, a close U.S. ally, after American forces took “defensive” actions against Iranian missile launchers and mine-laying boats it had launched in the strait.
The war has proved historically unpopular with the American public, and has seen oil prices soar since the U.S. military, in partnership with Israel, launched its first strikes against Iran in February.
Bessent said he is hopeful that oil prices would drop quickly once an agreement is signed. But industry analysts say the effects of the war on the oil market could last for months, if not years, with the stability of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz now in question for commercial shippers.
While oil has dropped to under $100 a barrel, markets appeared skittish on Friday over the prospects for a deal, with mixed messages appearing to emerge out of the region.
It is also unclear whether a U.S. agreement with Iran would in any way bind Israel’s hands in its military operations, either in Iran or in Lebanon, where an Iranian proxy militia, Hezbollah, has vowed to keep up the fight.
Israel has ramped up strikes against Hezbollah targets in recent days, jeopardizing a delicate ceasefire negotiated with the Lebanese government, a deal encouraged by the Trump administration in order to grease the wheels for its talks with Tehran.
Trump has been uncharacteristically silent on the prospects of an agreement in recent days, expressing cautious optimism in limited exchanges with reporters.
“It’s hard to say exactly when or if the president’s going to sign,” Vice President JD Vance, who has led the U.S. diplomatic team, told reporters, noting that “the nuclear stuff” is still subject to negotiation. “We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points.”
“I do think that we’ve made a lot of progress here,” Vance added. “Hopefully we’ll continue to make progress, and the president will be in a position where he can endorse the agreement. But obviously, that’s still TBD.”
-
World2 minutes agoZelenskyy warns Russia may be preparing ‘massive’ new attack
-
News25 minutes agoTrump’s doctor recommends he lose weight and exercise more but says he is in ‘excellent health’ | CNN Politics
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoMan arrested for multiple Los Angeles freeway shootings: CHP
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoArchdiocese of Detroit’s list of parishes chosen for halted Masses grows
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoGiants reassign 3B coach Borg; Wotus named interim replacement
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoVigil honors victims of Dallas apartment explosion that killed three and injured five
-
Miami, FL3 hours ago
Miami kosher, Mutra, restaurant earns Michelin star | The Jerusalem Post
-
Boston, MA3 hours agoRed Sox outfielder Roman Anthony suffers another injury setback
