New Zealand remains without an ambassador from the US, a year after Donald Trump’s inauguration
Illawarra Hawks owner Jared Novelly at a basketball match in Cairns in 2024. He has yet to be confirmed by the Senate as the US Ambassador to New Zealand, despite being nominated in April. Photo / Getty Images
New Zealand remains without an ambassador from the United States, a year on from the start of US President Donald Trump’s second term.
His nomination of sports business tycoon Jared Novelly was sent to the US Senate for confirmation in April, a few months after Trump’s inauguration, but it had not progressed before the Senate’s annual session ended on January 3.
That meant the nomination was “returned” to the President, who then had to renominate Novelly last Tuesday.
The process from someone being selected as a US ambassador to that person arriving at their post is a lengthy one, but it appears it’s taking longer to get Novelly to New Zealand than usual.
For example, Tom Udall, Joe Biden’s man in Wellington, was confirmed by the Senate in October 2021 and was in New Zealand by December, about nine months after Biden was inaugurated.
Scott Brown, Trump’s previous Ambassador to New Zealand, was confirmed within six months of the President taking office and here about six weeks later.
According to the US Embassy in New Zealand, the process for nominating a US Ambassador traditionally begins with the Secretary of State suggesting candidates to the President.
The Department of State then conducts consultations and security checks on candidates, before the President makes a formal nomination.
The nomination moves to the Senate foreign relations committee, which has discretion over when it holds a hearing with the nominee, to receive confirmation.
The US Embassy said the timing of the Senate hearing could depend on a range of factors, such as the legislative workload facing the committee.
Looking at the committee’s list of events for 2025, it appears it was holding nomination hearings most months, sometimes several times a month. In November, for example, a hearing was held for the nominee to be Ambassador to Romania, who was then confirmed in December.
“Once the committee holds a hearing and votes on the nomination, it reports its recommendation to the full Senate, which then decides when to bring the nomination to the floor for a final confirmation vote,” an embassy representative said.
If confirmed, the individual would then attend briefings and training, meet relevant US agencies and officials, and then be deployed to their post. Deployment typically occurred within 60 days of confirmation.
In the interim period between ambassadors, as exists now in New Zealand, a chargé d’affaires is usually the acting head of mission.
That’s currently David Gehrenbeck, who began as deputy chief of mission in September 2023 and has been chargé d’affaires since January last year.
At the end of a session of Congress, if the Senate has not confirmed a nominee, the nomination expires.
“The President must renominate the individual for consideration in the next session,” the embassy said.
“The process then resumes as with any new nomination, including committee review and potential confirmation. This ensures that all nominations are actively considered and that the Senate has the opportunity to review each candidate in the context of the current Congressional session.”
New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had confirmed an “agrément” - an approval given by a receiving nation – for Novelly in November.
It said the nomination process was a matter for the US Government, but it was working effectively with the US Embassy in the meantime.
A “certificate of demonstrated competence” was issued regarding Novelly by the US Department of State to the Senate committee in November.
The online record of that is primarily a biography of Novelly, noting his ownership of the Australian National Basketball League team the Illawarra Hawks through the Crest Sports and Entertainment firm, as well as his interests in Apex Oil and various other businesses.
“In living and conducting business throughout the Oceania region over the last seven years, he has developed strong professional relationships across both business and government sectors and a deep understanding of the region’s economic and political landscape, making him well qualified to serve as the US Ambassador to New Zealand, the Independent State of Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Niue.”
New Zealand isn’t alone in not yet having a US Ambassador.
The American Foreign Service Association keeps track of what posts have been filled. It says a large number are vacant, including Australia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and several United Nations departments.
In many cases where a post is vacant, as in Australia, a nomination has yet to be made.
And the number of countries without a top US representative is about to get larger. There were reports last month that the Trump Administration was ordering 30 ambassadors appointed under Biden to return home by mid-January, including some stationed in the Pacific.
The list of nominations sent by the White House to the Senate last week is lengthy. Others on the list include the nominations of an ambassador to Iceland, to the Philippines, to Hungary and Norway.
Jamie Ensor is the NZ Herald’s Chief Political Reporter, based in the Press Gallery at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office. He was a finalist in 2025 for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.