President-elect Donald Trump continued to appoint officials for top positions in his incoming administration over the weekend, announcing that he chose Christopher Landau, a lawyer and former ambassador to Mexico will be the deputy secretary of state. The appointment is the latest indication that Latin America will be a top priority during his second term, particularly when it comes to immigration coming from the region.
In a post in his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump praised Landau, who served as ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021 and who clerked for Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. He called Laundau "one of our Country's great lawyers" and said he will "work closely with our great Secretary of State Nominee, Marco Rubio, to promote our Nation's security and prosperity through an America First Foreign Policy."
If confirmed by the Senate, Landau would work with the secretary of state— most likely Rubio— to carry out Trump's foreign policy, which is set to prioritize stemming unlawful immigration, imposing a tariffs-based to try to jump-start American manufacturing, keeping the U.S. out of wars and getting allies to pay for a greater share of military base arrangements.
Landau is not expected to encounter resistance from Senate Republicans, as he was unanimously confirmed by voice vote to his ambassadorship, according to Politico.
The President-elect made two additional picks over the weekend. He announced that Michael Needham will be counselor to the State Department, directly advising Rubio. Needham currently holds top leadership posts at the conservative policy groups American Compass and American 2100 and previously led the Heritage Foundation's advocacy arm. Trump also named Michael Anton as director of policy planning for the department.
Like with Landau, Trump said Needham and Anton have been advocates for "America First" policies.
Landau's appointment comes as the Trump administration deals with controversies for selecting personalities with little to no senior experience in other areas. Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News presenter, is facing resistance as he seeks to become the defense secretary, while Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has since withdrawn his name from consideration, was previously chosen to lead the Department of Justice as attorney general.
But unlike the mentioned nominees, Landau has experience in foreign policy, particularly in Latin America. Since serving as ambassador to Mexico, Landau has worked in the Washington office of the law firm Ellis George. He also had a three-decade career as a lawyer before becoming an ambassador.
But even before having such ties to the Trump administration, he was involved with the State Department. He was born in Madrid, to a father who was a U.S. diplomat, according to The New York Times. His father, George Landau, later became ambassador to Paraguay, Chile and Venezuela. In his adult life, the younger Landau became a director of the Diplomacy Center Foundation, a nonprofit group that supports a museum about American diplomacy inside the State Department.
Landau's appointment signals that Latin America could play a prominent role in Trump's foreign policy. Just like him, his potential boss, Sen. Rubio has a keen interest in Latin America. He is the son of Cuban immigrants, and, as member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he played an influential role on Venezuela policy in the first Trump administration.
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