WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former NFL star Herschel Walker has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the next ambassador to the Bahamas, marking the end of a nearly 15-year vacancy in the post.
The Senate approved Walker’s nomination in a 51–47 vote on Tuesday, largely along party lines. He was among more than 100 nominees confirmed in a single session, capping months of political wrangling over diplomatic appointments.
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Walker, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, becomes the first U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas since Nicole Avant, who left the position in 2011. Since then, the U.S. Embassy in Nassau has been led by a succession of chargés d’affaires.
A Heisman Trophy winner and University of Georgia football legend, Walker played for the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants during his NFL career. He later transitioned into politics, becoming one of Trump’s most visible surrogates.
In 2022, Walker made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, losing to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff. His campaign was marred by controversy, including questions about his personal finances, allegations of domestic issues, and a report claiming he paid for an abortion in 2009—despite running on a strict anti-abortion platform. Walker admitted giving his ex-partner a $700 check but denied knowing it was for an abortion.
Trump continued to stand by Walker, later nominating him in December 2024 for the ambassadorship, calling him “an Ambassador to our Nation’s youth, our men and women in the Military, and athletes at home and abroad.”
The confirmation fills a longstanding diplomatic gap. While President Barack Obama had nominated Cassandra Buttsfor the post in 2014, the Senate never acted on her nomination, and she died in 2016 while still awaiting confirmation.
Walker is expected to arrive in Nassau later this month, where he will oversee U.S. diplomatic relations, security cooperation, and cultural outreach in one of the Caribbean’s key strategic and tourism hubs.
