WASHINGTON, United States — US President Donald Trump has nominated Kimberly Greenwood and Austin Holmes to serve as US diplomatic representatives in the Caribbean.
Greenwood, the wife of “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood, has been nominated to serve as the US diplomatic representative in Barbados, as well as St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, Dominica, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Her appointment is subject to approval by the US Senate.
The ambassadorial post was previously held by Seattle business leader and Democratic donor Roger Nyhus.
Greenwood and her husband have been close associates of Trump.
She worked alongside Trump during his time as owner of the Miss Universe Organisation, where she directed state-level pageants in Tennessee over an 18-year period.
Following the nomination, Greenwood thanked Trump for the opportunity.
“Mr. President, thank you for believing in me and entrusting me with this extraordinary opportunity to serve,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a photograph of herself, her husband and Trump.
Lee Greenwood also welcomed the nomination.
“Representing the United States abroad is both an extraordinary honour and a solemn responsibility. Upon confirmation, 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,” he said.
Holmes has been nominated to serve as the US diplomatic representative in Haiti.
He is CEO of RallyX and previously served as CEO of Caribbean Security Group and chairman of Mission of Hope.
Holmes has worked in Haiti since 2009 and previously lived in the country.
He also speaks Haitian Creole.
The nomination comes months after Holmes testified before the US Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs in February.
He appeared alongside then-US Chargé d’Affaires Henry Wooster at a hearing focused on Haiti’s security crisis and US assistance.
During the hearing, Holmes argued that security and freedom of movement must come first if humanitarian aid and longer-term recovery are to succeed. He also pressed for Haitian-led security capacity rather than an open-ended foreign presence.
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