Trump picks investment banker Warren Stephens as UK ambassador

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated businessman Warren Stephens to serve as America’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.

“Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time,” Trump said in a statement on Truth Social. “I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top diplomat, representing the USA to one of America’s most cherished and beloved allies.”

Stephens, who is CEO of private Arkansas-based investment bank Stephens Inc, donated millions to Trump’s re-election campaign this year.

If his nomination is successful, Stephens will help to maintain the so-called “special relationship” between the US and the UK.

The two countries maintain close military, intelligence, and cultural ties.

Trump has vowed to rework the US’ relationships abroad, vowing to implement an “America-first” ethos to foreign policy.

The role of US ambassador to the UK is one of the most coveted diplomatic positions, and presidents have been known to bestow the role to prominent backers.

During his first term in office, Trump appointed Woody Johnson, a top Republican donor and owner of the American football team the New York Jets, as UK ambassador.

Barack Obama chose long-time Democratic Party fundraiser and lawyer Louis Susman as his first emissary to the UK - or the Court of St James.

Stephens did not always back Trump’s candidacies, however. In 2016, when Trump first ran for president, Stephens donated about $4m (£3.1m) to political groups that sought to stop Trump’s ascent, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported at the time.

The investment banker also donated over $2m to a political action committee that supported former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley as she unsuccessfully ran for president in 2024, the campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets found.

When Trump ultimately triumphed in this year’s Republican presidential primary, however, Stephens threw his support behind him. Federal campaign finance data show he also donated to Republican groups and US Senate candidates this year.

In a statement, Stephens said he was honoured by the nomination.

"I have expressed to President Trump that I would be extremely proud to serve our country and his administration, working to implement the President’s agenda and further strengthen the long-standing alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom,” he said.

He and his wife also maintain a philanthropic organisation, the Harriet and Warren Stephens Family Foundation, which has donated to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, the University of Mississippi, and the Episcopal Collegiate School in Little Rock.

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of US politics in his twice weekly US Election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.