SINGAPORE: President Donald Trump's pick for US ambassador to Singapore has been returned by the Senate for renomination.

The nomination of Ms Barbera Hale Thornhill, who heads an interior design firm in Los Angeles, was returned to the White House last Friday (Jan 3).



In September 2019, Mr Trump announced Ms Thornhill as his intended candidate for the ambassador’s post, which has been vacant since 2017.

The appointment of ambassadors must be confirmed by the US Senate in a process that involves extensive checks, a hearing and a vote.

Under Senate rules, nominations not acted on during the session at which they were made must be made again to the Senate by the president before action can be taken at a succeeding session.

Ms Thornhill is the president of interior design firm Impact Design and a member of the Getty Research Institute Council, the Getty Paintings Council, the World Affairs Council and the Pacific Council on International Policy.



The US ambassador’s post in Singapore has been vacant since Mr Kirk Wagar resigned in 2017. Former US Deputy Security Adviser KT McFarland was nominated for the post last year, but asked to have the nomination withdrawn after it stalled in Senate.



Her nomination was delayed due to concerns about her testimony to Congress over communications with Russia.

Rafik Mansour currently serves as the embassy’s Charge d’Affaires.