The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate approved three ambassadors appointed by President Donald Trump, stationing them in the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Italy, respectively. All three new ambassadors, Warren Stephens, Tom Barrack, and Tilman Feritta, have been vocal publicly about their support for Trump.
The Senate approved Stephens as the new ambassador to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland by a vote of 59-39.
Arkansas GOP Sen. Tom Cotton spoke in favor of Stephens, an investment banker from his home state, describing him as a “family man, businessman, philanthropist, and patriot.”
“He is the right person to lead our strong, special relationship with the United Kingdom,” Cotton said.
Stephens served as president and CEO of Stephens Inc., a Little Rock-based investment banking business, until January.
According to Federal Election Commission records, Stephens donated $1 million to “Our Principles PAC,” a nonprofit that opposed Trump’s first presidential campaign.
However, he donated to Trump-aligned entities in 2019 and 2020, and in 2024, he gave $3 million to MAGA Inc., the primary Super PAC that supported Trump, according to FEC records.
“Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full-time. I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved allies,” Trump said.
The Senate confirmed Barrack, a private equity executive and longtime Trump ally, in a 60-36 vote.
Barrack has known Trump since the 1980s. He worked in the Reagan administration before establishing the private equity company Colony Capital. He advised Trump’s campaign in 2016 and led his 2017 inauguration committee.
The Department of Justice accused Barrack in July 2021 of allegations of working as an unregistered lobbyist for the UAE. He denied any involvement and was acquitted in November 2022.
The Senate voted 83-14 to approve Fertitta as the United States ambassador to Italy.
Fertitta, whom Trump appointed to the position in December last year, is the CEO of Landry’s, a hospitality corporation that operates restaurants, hotels, casinos, and other entertainment facilities. He also owns the NBA team Houston Rockets.
This comes as Senate Republicans have confirmed over 100 of President Trump’s nominees, clearing the backlog of pending appointments in a single move.
The confirmations came after the Senate GOP changed its rules last month to allow most executive branch nominees to be approved en masse rather than individually.
The change does not apply to Cabinet secretaries or judicial nominees.
The move represents the largest block of confirmations since the rule change took effect. Among those approved were former Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker, who will serve as ambassador to the Bahamas, and Sergio Gor, former director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, who will serve as ambassador to India.
Republicans invoked the so-called “nuclear option” — a party-line rules change — to speed up the confirmation process after months of Democratic opposition had slowed it to a crawl.
Some Republicans briefly considered allowing President Trump to make recess appointments, which would enable him to fill positions while the Senate was not in session. However, GOP leaders ultimately rejected that idea, citing concerns that it could backfire when their party is next in the minority.
The mass confirmation marks a major victory for Trump as his administration continues to fill key posts across the federal government amid ongoing partisan gridlock.
In September, Senate Republicans weighed changes to the chamber’s confirmation process as they faced a backlog of judicial nominations due to stall tactics by minority Democrats.
President Trump had criticized Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for preserving the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, which allowed home-state senators to weigh in on nominees and could effectively block their confirmation if the slips were withheld.
