<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="http://9news.com.au/usa" rel="" target="" title="US"><span>US</span></a><span> President </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="" title="Donald Trump"><span>Donald Trump</span></a><span>'s pick for ambassador to </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/australia" rel="" target="" title="Australia"><span>Australia</span></a><span> has pledged to focus on </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/aukus" rel="" target="" title="AUKUS"><span>AUKUS</span></a><span>, critical minerals and </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/china" rel="" target="" title="China"><span>China</span></a><span>'s growing influence in the region if confirmed for the role.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Republican former House representative from Virginia David Brat was urged to push for Australia's cooperation on all three topics, along with the fight against antisemitism, in a relatively gentle Senate grilling in a nomination hearing on Wednesday morning (early Thursday AEST).</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Jim Risch said if confirmed Brat would be overseeing a "historic transformation" in a relationship that had been "reinvigorated" by the defence partnership with the US and UK and a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-and-us-rare-earths-deal-why-critical-minerals-are-so-vital-explained/c8ccd0ac-b0a1-467b-bdd3-ee35823d6d92"><span>new $US8.5 billion ($13 billion) critical minerals and rare earths deal</span></a><span> signed by </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-and-us-rare-earths-deal-why-critical-minerals-are-so-vital-explained/c8ccd0ac-b0a1-467b-bdd3-ee35823d6d92"><span>Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-may-21-donald-trump-latest-world-news-headlines/525613a3-c84c-4e08-8d87-94949382211a"><strong><span>Trump's bizarre UFC posters emerge</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That's [the rare earths deal] something that is really necessary for us, for the free world, really, and again, that has helped reinvigorate our relationship," Risch said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I know Australia's got some - we think we have a China problem here, they got a real China problem there."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brat named critical minerals and commercial diplomacy, defence cooperation and partnership in the Indo-Pacific region as his three key focus areas.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-update-us-presidents-pick-for-ambassador-to-australia-david-brat-faces-senate-committee-nomination-hearing/6d597d09-2fce-417a-855c-f8d1439f87cb" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He also pledged to work on getting more US companies into Australia and encourage the $1 trillion superannuation industry to invest more in the US.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If confirmed, I would also continue to strengthen defence cooperation, including working with Congress to further streamline defence trade controls amidst China's unprecedented military buildup," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The US-Australia alliance is an essential pillar of regional stability and deterrence. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/bondi-beach-terror-attack-man-charged-with-stealing-victims-camera-equipment/3afc712c-b88d-459f-8ca9-e628b147103e"><strong><span>Man charged with stealing Bondi terror attack victim's camera</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"As the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/aukus-deal-donald-trump-remarks-nuclear-expert-reveals-questions-over-australia-defence-capability-and-china/93560c28-b17d-44d7-92cf-7646b1bc2ecb"><span>President has instructed, I would ensure the mission moves "full steam ahead"</span></a><span>, including on AUKUS and other alliance priorities."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brat was broadly praised by both Republicans and Democrats in a hearing that focused more attention on some of the other nominees being confirmed at the same time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But committee ranking member Senator Jeanne Shaheen did criticise the 15-month delay in finding someone to fill the post in Canberra.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The administration's prolonged review of AUKUS has created uncertainty that I think has merely been unnecessary at a critical time in the region," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/household-debt-australia-why-we-feel-poor-despite-being-among-worlds-richest-countries/79fe0a69-9ec1-4094-b924-f02be903fc8c"><strong><span>Australia ranks among the richest countries. So why do we feel 'poor'?</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It took more than a year for the administration to nominate someone to this post, and I'm glad that they finally have.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm delighted because it's delays like that that weaken American credibility with our allies."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia has already spent billions of dollars on AUKUS infrastructure in a deal that includes the purchase of eight nuclear-propelled submarines from the US and UK and is estimated to cost more than $360 billion in the coming decades.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Democrat Senator Tim Kaine said on a recent trip to Australia he'd seen some "anxiety" that Australian firms would be cut out of the work in favour of US companies. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/videos/national/mum-hit-while-riding-e-scooter-pleads-for-driver-to-surrender/cmpdvvuu9000g0hqmydoy2bpq"><strong><span>Mum hit while riding e-scooter pleads for driver to surrender</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He asked Brat to "make sure the Australian firms know that they're also really welcome" and push for joint-venture partnerships.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brat, the senior vice president of business relations at Liberty University, was a somewhat unexpected pick described by former White House staffer Cory Alpert as a "bargain-bin ambassador".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's because the role of ambassador has become redundant under Trump," he wrote in </span><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/why-trump-is-sending-australia-a-bargain-bin-us-ambassador-20260430-p5zslt.html"><span>The Sydney Morning Herald</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The US no longer has significant diplomatic infrastructure. Likewise, Trump has hollowed out the National Security Council, normally responsible for coordinating foreign policy across the administration. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When other countries engage with the United States now, it's not through the broad apparatus of the State Department or the aid programs that were gutted under Elon Musk's watch.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Instead, Trump expects world leaders to react to his Truth Social posts, or to show up to the White House, hat in hand."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Further dates to vote on Brat's confirmation in the committee and in the Senate itself have yet to be scheduled.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Sign up to</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></em></a></li></ul></div></div>