At least three Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will oppose President Donald Trump’s pick for ambassador to Kuwait, Amer Ghalib — all but dooming his nomination inside the panel and likely on the chamber floor, as well.
It would be the second time this month that a Trump nominee has been tanked by members of the president’s own party over concerns about a history of allegedly antisemitic remarks.
Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, made headlines in 2024 for endorsing Trump in his capacity as the mayor of the only U.S. city run entirely by Muslims. He was eviscerated by Republicans as well as Democrats during his confirmation hearing last Thursday, where he had to answer for past comments suggesting Israel deserved to be attacked by Hamas and for allegedly complimenting members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the late dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein.
“I was a ‘no’ even before the hearing,” Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) said in an interview Monday.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) made clear during the hearing that he would vote against Ghalib’s nomination. Sen. John Cornyn, another Texas Republican, said in a Monday interview he, too, would give a thumbs down to Trump’s pick.
Assuming all Democrats vote “no,” Ghalib can afford to lose only three Republicans on the Senate floor before Vice President JD Vance is brought in to break a tie. As it currently stands, Ghalib would not even have GOP support to advance out of Senate Foreign Relations, where only two Republicans can oppose a nominee on an otherwise party-line vote.
A fourth GOP opponent could be incoming. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), who also harshly questioned Ghalib on his views on Israel at the recent hearing, was noncommittal when asked how he would vote on the nominee.
“We’ll have some conversations with Senator [Jim] Risch on that one,” Ricketts said, referring to the Senate Foreign Relations chair.
Last week, the Trump administration withdrew its nominee to lead the office of the special counsel: Paul Ingrassia, whom Republicans dropped support for after POLITICO reported on a series of text messages Ingrassia appears to have sent to colleagues wherein he boasted about having a “Nazi streak.”
Ingrassia’s attorneys have not confirmed the authenticity of the messages.
Regarding Ghalib’s prospects, the White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokesperson for Risch also did not immediately respond to questions about whether the Idaho Republican would support Ghalib and if the nominee would appear on the agenda for an upcoming markup.
Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing contributed to this report.
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