Cabinet minister signals confidence in Lord Mandelson US ambassador approval
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A Cabinet minster has suggested he is confident that Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US will be approved by Donald Trump’s team. There were reports in a number of newspapers on Sunday that the Trump administration could be considering not granting approval to Lord Mandelson’s new position.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones told the BBC on Sunday that Labour grandee Lord Mandelson was picked for the job “because we want to do things differently”. Mr Trump will be sworn in for a second term in the White House on Monday, with Lord Mandelson’s outgoing predecessor Dame Karen Pierce expected to attend on behalf of the Government.
Asked on the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme whether he was “confident” that Mr Trump’s administration will accept the nomination, Mr Jones said: “Yeah. For the first time in, I think, maybe 50 years, this is the first time that a British Prime Minister has picked a politician to be the ambassador in DC.
“We have brilliant diplomats and Karen Pierce has done a brilliant job, but the reason the Prime Minister picked Peter Mandelson was because we want to do things differently. “We recognise the important relationship between our two countries. There are lots of opportunities there on trade and the way in which our countries collaborate, whether it’s on technology, or on finance or on defence and security issues.
