Trump nominates Kennington as US ambassador to Somalia

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – President Donald Trump has nominated Devin Kennington, of California, to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to the Federal Republic of Somalia, the White House announced Monday, moving to fill a post that has sat vacant since late last year.

The nomination was included in a slate of 41 names the White House sent to the Senate on September 14, covering judicial, diplomatic and agency posts. Alongside Kennington’s nomination for Somalia, the list named Wesley Hunt for ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Austin Holmes for ambassador to Haiti, and Junaid Munir, of Michigan, for ambassador to Djibouti.

If confirmed, Kennington would become the first full ambassador Washington has sent to Mogadishu since Richard H. Riley departed the post in December 2025. Riley, a career diplomat who took up the Mogadishu ambassadorship in May 2024, was recalled to Washington as part of a broader wave that pulled back roughly 30 Biden-appointed chiefs of mission, leaving posts across Africa unfilled. Henry Wooster’s nomination as the next US ambassador to Kenya, announced in June, was part of the same effort to rebuild the administration’s diplomatic presence on the continent.

In the interim, the US mission in Mogadishu has been run by Justin Davis, a career diplomat who has served as Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. since January 15, 2026. Ruth Anne Stevens-Klitz assumed duties as deputy chief of mission in August 2026.

The nomination must still clear the Senate, a process that can include committee hearings and background review. No date has yet been set for a confirmation hearing or vote.

Kennington’s nomination comes as Somalia continues to face security pressure from Al-Shabaab and navigates ongoing disputes over elections and federal-state relations. It also lands as the Trump administration has signaled plans to cut funding for the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) and for African Union peacekeepers deployed against Al-Shabaab under the AUSSOM mission – a backdrop that is likely to shape the confirmation debate and, if Kennington is seated, his early agenda in Mogadishu.

A confirmed ambassador would take on a lead role coordinating US policy toward Somalia, including counterterrorism cooperation, engagement with federal and regional authorities, and coordination with international partners operating in the Horn of Africa.

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