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Malaysia
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Trump proposes seasoned diplomat as Malaysia envoy instead of ‘alpha male’

Joshua Harris has been chosen for the post after Trump’s previous pick, Nick Adams, rankled Malaysians for his hardline support of Israel

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The nomination of Nick Adams as US ambassador to Malaysia was returned to President Donald Trump in January and was no longer eligible for confirmation. Photo: X/NickAdamsinUSA
Iman Muttaqin Yusof
The United States has turned to a career Middle East diplomat for its next ambassador to Malaysia, a sharp change in tone after an earlier nominee known for his “alpha male” bravado, pro-Israel posts and culture-war commentary drew protests in the Muslim-majority country.
US President Donald Trump nominated Joshua Harris for the Kuala Lumpur posting after his previous nomination of Australian-born conservative commentator Nick Adams lapsed in the Senate.

The White House sent Harris’s nomination to the US Senate on Tuesday, identifying him as a Maryland-based member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of minister-counsellor. Senators have to confirm Harris before he can take up the post.

Harris currently leads the US mission in Iraq as chargé d’affaires, a post he assumed on September 2 last year.

In testimony before the Senate in 2024, he said he joined the Foreign Service in the “dark shadow of September 11” and had spent more than two decades working on issues involving Libya, Iraq, Tunisia and Egypt.

Joshua Harris, the US mission in Iraq’s chargé d’affaires, is President Donald Trump’s latest nomination as ambassador to Malaysia. Photo: US embassy in Iraq
Joshua Harris, the US mission in Iraq’s chargé d’affaires, is President Donald Trump’s latest nomination as ambassador to Malaysia. Photo: US embassy in Iraq

His selection marks a major change from Trump’s previous nominee, Adams, who was known for his far-right politics and masculinity boasts.

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