Dec. 8 (UPI) — Donald Trump nominated his former ambassador to Mexico, Christopher Landau, to serve as deputy secretary of State, as the president-elect continued to fill out the foreign policy arm of his incoming administration on Sunday night.
If confirmed by the Senate, Landau will work with Trump’s secretary of State on a range of pressing issues, including illegal immigration, which the president-elect heavily ran on during his election campaign, and ongoing wars in Israel and Ukraine.
Trump has tapped Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to serve as secretary of State.
In a statement, the former New York real estate mogul said Landau will work closely with Rubio “to promote our Nation’s security and prosperity through an America First Foreign Policy.”
He also lauded Landau for being “one of our Country’s great lawyers.”
“I’m deeply honored by, and grateful for, this nomination and the opportunity to work with Senator @marcorubio to implement President @realdonaldtrump’s foreign policy agenda,” Landau said in a statement on X.
Born in Madrid, Spain, Landau speaks fluent spanish and earned a Certificate in Latin American studies at Harvard, where he also earned his Bachelor of Arts in history in 1985, according to his biography on the U.S. Embassy in Mexico website.
He later clerked for Clarence Thomas when the future Supreme Court justice was a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He then clerked for conservative Associated Justices Antonin Scalia and Thomas on the U.S. high court in 1990 and 1991.
After years of practicing law, Landau was confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico in 2019, a position he held under 2021.
In a Spanish-language statement addressed to the people of Mexico on X, Landau said that if confirmed by the Senate, “the relationship between our countries will continue to be one of my top priorities.”
“Even if I do not have the pleasure of living among you again, you will always be very present of me.”
The U.S.-Mexico relationship under the Trump administraiton got off to a tumultuous start, even before his return to the White House.
Late last month, Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico, as well as Canada, if Mexico did not do more to stem the flow of migrants and drugs into the United States.
Discussiones between Trump and President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico led Trump to claim that Sheinbaum had “agreed” halt migration into the United States through Mexico — a statement that Sheinbaum undercut by saying that while she had an “excellent” talk, she indicated that Mexico’s border policies would not change.
On Sunday night, Trump also announcement several other nominations to the Department of State.
He named Michael Needham to serve as counselor to the department. Needham is chairman of American Compass and is executive director of America 2100, both conservative policy groups. He also served as chief of Staff to Rubio.
“Mike has capably served Senator Marco Rubio for many years, and is a key leader in the America First Movement. He has been on the front lines of the fight for the Forgotten Men and Women of America for nearly two decades, and will do a great job at State,” Trump said in a statement.
Trump also named Michael Anton to serve as director of policy planning at the State Department on Sunday night.
Neither Needham nor Anton need confirmation by the Senate.