SINGAPORE: United States President Donald Trump announced several of his picks for ambassadors on Tuesday (March 11), including entrepreneur Anji Sinha for Singapore.
On Truth Social, the alt-tech social media platform owned by Trump Media, he wrote, “I am happy to announce that Dr Anji Sinha will be the next United States Ambassador to Singapore. Anji is a highly respected entrepreneur, with an incredible family!
“The United States’ relationship with Singapore is vital, and I have no doubt that Anji will strongly represent our Nation’s Interests, and put America First. Congratulations Anji!”
As enthusiastic as Mr Trump’s announcement was, news reports have noted that there is little known about Dr Sinha, and neither does she have a social media presence. A Straits Times article quoted observers in Washington as saying they had not heard of her.
The US President also announced on March 11 Michael George DeSombre as his pick for ambassador of Thailand, and Bill Bazzi as ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia. Mr DeSombre, a lawyer, formerly served as ambassador to Thailand. Mr Bazzi is the mayor of Dearborn Heights, Michigan,
Mr Trump’s latest choices are similar to his other appointments, many of whom are not career civil servants but have shown loyalty to him. Ambassadors, as the highest-ranking US diplomats, usually rise from the ranks of the foreign service — a trajectory not followed by the entrepreneur, Dr Sinja.
However, as with the other nominees, Dr Sinha’s appointment needs to be confirmed by the US Senate.
Under former President Joseph Biden, Jonathan Kaplan served as the US ambassador to Singapore. Since Mr Trump was inaugurated for his second term on January 20, 2025, Casey K. Mace, as the chargé d’dffaires, has been the US embassy’s interim head in Singapore. Mr Mace began serving as the deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Singapore in July 2022.
During Mr Trump’s first term, Singapore did not have a US ambassador. Instead, Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath (2017 to 2019) and Rafik Mansour (2019 to 2021) were the chargés d’dffaires.
A close ally of Mr Trump, K.T. McFarland was nominated to the ambassadorship of Singapore in May 2017. She was a former deputy US national security adviser who had worked under Michael Flynn, a key figure in the Russia investigation. However, the US Senate did not confirm her appointment after she became embroiled in the controversy over the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russian officials, reported the New York Times. /TISG
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