U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday on his social media platform Truth Social that he has picked Michael DeSombre for the role. "I am pleased to announce that Ambassador Michael George DeSombre will be nominated as the next United States Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific," he said.
The position, which plays a crucial role in formulating U.S. policies toward China, Japan, South Korea, and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, requires Senate confirmation before the appointment can be finalized.
"I am honored that President Trump has given me the opportunity to serve our great country again!" DeSombre wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, just hours after Trump shared his post.
DeSombre, a legal professional with profound expertise in mergers and acquisitions in Asia from his time in Hong Kong, previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to Thailand from 2020 to 2021.
Having earned his master's in East Asian studies at Stanford in addition to a law degree from Harvard, he is currently working as an attorney at New York-based law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.
He is reportedly proficient in Chinese and speaks halting Korean, as his wife is of Korean descent.
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