President Trump on Monday nominated Kimberly Greenwood, the wife of “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood, to serve as ambassador to Barbados and several other Caribbean countries.
Kimberly Greenwood’s nomination was sent to the Senate along with dozens of other nominations for judgeships, ambassadorships and administration officials.
She was tasked to serve as ambassador to Barbados and, “without additional compensation,” as the U.S.’ top envoy to Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It’s common for a single person to serve simultaneously as ambassador to Barbados and several nearby Eastern Caribbean island nations, most of which are small and do not have their own separate U.S. diplomatic posts.
Kimberly Greenwood thanked Mr. Trump in an Instagram post that included a photo of her with Lee Greenwood and the president, calling it “one of the greatest honors of my lifetime.”
“If confirmed by the United States Senate, I will work every day to earn that confidence, to listen and learn, to build genuine relationships, and to make sure the people of every nation I am privileged to serve know how deeply America values their friendship,” she wrote.
Lee Greenwood congratulated his wife for the nomination, writing on X: “I know Kim will serve with humility, dignity and a sincere desire to strengthen the friendships between the United States and the people of these seven Caribbean nations.”
Lee Greenwood has been closely associated with Mr. Trump for much of the president’s political career. Mr. Trump has long used Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” as his rally walk-up song, and in recent years, the country singer has performed the patriotic anthem live at certain Trump events. The president also worked with the artist to sell a line of Bibles.
In an interview with Sean Hannity over the summer, Kimberly Greenwood said her professional relationship with the president predates her husband’s. A former Miss Tennessee, she worked with Mr. Trump for years in his capacity as the former owner of the Miss Universe pageant.
Kimberly Greenwood has directed the Miss Tennessee, Miss Mississippi and Miss Georgia competitions, according to a biography on the Miss Georgia website.
“Kim has always approached every responsibility with a servant’s heart and a deep commitment to excellence,” Lee Greenwood wrote on X. “Kim worked with President Trump for 18 years through the Miss Universe Organization while directing multiple state pageants, and I am deeply grateful for the confidence he has once again placed in her through this nomination.”
Mr. Trump is far from the first president to pick political allies to serve as diplomats in some cases, but a Washington Post review last month found the Trump administration has filled a larger-than-usual share of its ambassadorial posts with political supporters rather than career Foreign Service officers. Many posts remain unfilled.
The president has nominated Trump-backed former Senate candidates Herschel Walker of Georgia and Kari Lake of Arizona to serve as ambassadors to the Bahamas and Jamaica, respectively. Charles Kushner, the father of Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, serves as ambassador to France and Monaco. And Kimberly Guilfoyle, a pro-Trump former Fox News host who previously dated the president’s eldest son, was chosen as ambassador to Greece.
