Former Virginia congressman David Brat has been confirmed by the US Senate to be the next US ambassador to Australia, after the role had been left vacant for 18 months. The ambassador role had been vacant since November 2024, when Joe Biden’s ambassador, Caroline Kennedy, left the post. “The bilateral relationship is of course a deeply important one and we welcome the appointment of the new ambassador.” Brat was described by Time magazine in 2010 as a “Tea Party professor” and an enthusiast of the author Ayn Rand. Brat was swept into Congress in 2014 when he defeated the then House of Representatives majority leader, Eric Cantor, in a primary.