US President Donald Trump has withdrawn the nomination of Australian-American Nick Adams as ambassador to Malaysia.
Nomination withdrawn after failing to advance
Adams, a vocal supporter of Trump and the Make America Great Again movement, was nominated for the post last July.
His nomination was never confirmed by the Senate and lapsed at the end of the year in line with standard procedure.
He did not appear on the list of resubmitted nominations sent to the Senate in January, nor on another list submitted this month.
In an email to The Sydney Morning Herald, Adams confirmed he would not take up the role in Malaysia.
He described the development as a promotion and said details of his new position would be announced soon.
Adams teased his social media followers about a forthcoming “Major Announcement”.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Background and past controversies
Born in Sydney, Adams was elected to the then Ashfield Council while a Young Liberal at Sydney University.
At 21, he became the youngest deputy mayor in Australian history.
As a councillor, he proposed DNA-testing dog faeces, called for the extermination of pigeons to prevent bird flu, and pushed for restrictions on lawnmower and leaf blower noise on weekend afternoons.
He later moved to the United States, became a naturalised citizen, and emerged as a committed Trump supporter.
Adams founded the Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness, which focuses on teaching the nation’s founding documents and American values to school students.
He has drawn attention for controversial statements, including identifying strongly as an “alpha male” and defending what he describes as traditional masculine traits.
In 2022, he called the decline of alpha males a national security crisis.
In 2023, he was filmed stomping on a packet of M&Ms in Times Square after Mars introduced packaging featuring female M&Ms, describing it as outrageous and disgusting.
In 2024, speaking to young Republicans, he warned against apologising, wearing masks, playing Fortnite, or eating boneless chicken wings, claiming such habits lead to gender pronouns and communism.
Adams has also made remarks critical of Islam and the Palestinian cause.
In his 2016 book Retaking America, he suggested discussing the internment of Muslims due to perceived disloyalty at individual and mosque levels.
His nomination prompted protests outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur last July, with demonstrators carrying signs accusing him of being anti-Islam and pro-Zionist.
No ambassador yet named for Australia
Trump has still not nominated an ambassador to Australia, 13 months into his current presidency.
In October, when asked about the vacancy, Trump said he had one or two candidates in mind but wanted someone acceptable to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
He noted that many people want the role of ambassador to Australia.
During his first term, Trump took until February of his second year to appoint Admiral Harry Harris to Canberra.
Harris was later renominated to South Korea.
Arthur Culvahouse was nominated in November and confirmed in January 2019, two years after Trump took office.
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