Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Trump nominates GOP lawmaker as ambassador to Saudi Arabia
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US Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, arrives at a campaign event, February 16, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
US President Donald Trump has nominated Texas Republican Representative Wesley Hunt to be ambassador to Saudi Arabia, which would fill a position vacant since Trump began his second term in January 2025.
Hunt, a US Army veteran once deployed to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, is not running for re-election to the House, after making an unsuccessful bid for the US Senate.
If his nomination is approved by the US Senate, Hunt would go to Riyadh at a time when months of war on Iran have raised fears of wider conflict and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched attacks on Saudi Arabia.
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