Trump Appoints New  U.S Ambassador to Kenya

Kenya, June 02, 2026 - United States President Donald Trump has nominated Henry Wooster as the next United States Ambassador to Kenya.

 The appointment of  Wooster was among the diplomatic appointments that were tabled to the U.S. Senate by the White House for a green light on Monday, January 1.

If he is approved, Wooster will succeed Meg Whitman, who concluded her term as the U.S. ambassador to Kenya in 2024 after Trump was elected U.S. president.

According to his profile, as submitted by the white House, Wooster is a renowned veteran diplomat who has served as the Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince.

 He is also a career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, where he holds the rank of Minister-Counselor, one of the most prominent levels in the U.S. diplomatic corps.

Before being appointed to this role, he was serving as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

He also served in other positions, such as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from September 2020 to July 2023.

Furthermore, he was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Maghreb and Egypt, as well as the Director for Central Asia at the National Security Council and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commanding General of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command.

Among other ambassadorial nominations tabled to the U.S. Senate are: Mark Abreu to El Salvador, Alexander Alden to Azerbaijan, Christopher Anderson to Cambodia, William Grayson to Indonesia, Nathaniel Morris to Colombia, Daniel Perez to Brazil, Nick Oberheiden to Egypt, Keith Noreika to Lithuania, and Michael Young to Serbia
African postings include Stanley Brown to Equatorial Guinea and Laurence Socha to The Gambia.


 The announcement comes at a time when  Kenya and the U.S are working to reinforce their diplomatic relationships, especially following the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in Uganda and Congo.


 The government has also committed to working with the United States closely to manage the virus. Earlier last week, the U.S. government committed approximately $13.5 million (roughly Ksh. 1.74 billion) to support Kenya's Ebola preparedness efforts.

 The funding is part of a broader, controversial deal, which, if it sails through, Americans exposed to the virus within the African region could be brought to Kenya for monitoring and treatment.

However, on Friday, the High Court issued conservatory orders temporarily blocking the establishment of a U.S.-linked Ebola quarantine facility at the Laikipia Air Base, a move that both the Kenyan government and the U.S government have committed to ensuring that it is resolved.