US president Joe Biden to offer Republican Jeff Flake job of ambassador to NZ, according to report

We dont want this vulgar flake here. . . US President Joe Biden is set to “imminently” offer former Republican senator Jeff Flake the role of ambassador to New Zealand, according to a New York Post reporter. Flake would be filling a vacancy left open by former Republican Senator Scott Brown, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump and left the job at the end of 2020. Arizona Republic national politics editor Dan Nowicki quoted Flake as denying the “rumour”, however. The US Embassy in New Zealand has not confirmed the report. The report comes from New York Post Wall Street reporter Lydia Moynihan, who tweeted that Flake was “expected” to be offered the ambassadorship to New Zealand imminently. READ MORE: * 'Threat to democracy': Democrats to impeach Donald Trump over US Capitol riots * 'I want him out': Republicans flee from Trump in wake of US Capitol riot * 'Go Joe': Former Republican lawmakers say they'll support Joe Biden over Donald Trump A spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Wellington said any news about the appointment would come directly from the White House. “When the President is ready to nominate a new ambassador an announcement comes out directly from the White House,” the spokeswoman said. Jeff Flake, centre, is reportedly Biden’s pick for nominee to NZ. J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP Jeff Flake, centre, is reportedly Biden’s pick for nominee to NZ. “The White House has not yet made any statement about who the president intends to nominate as the next ambassador to New Zealand. The US Senate must then confirm the nomination.” Flake was a Republican senator for the state of Arizona from 2013 to 2019. He came to wide prominence as one of Trump’s loudest critics from within the Republican Party, and eventually retired at the 2018 midterms, saying he could not serve in the party while Trump was at its head. Flake endorsed Biden at the 2020 election, arguing that another four years of Trump would be ruinous to the Republicans and the country. After Trump refused to accept his loss, Flake wrote a piece for the New York Times urging Republicans to give up on Trump. “There is power in standing up to the rank corruptions of a demagogue. Mr Trump can’t hurt you. But he is destroying us,” Flake wrote. MORE FROM HENRY COOKE • CHIEF POLITICAL REPORTER henry.cooke@stuff.co.nz Flake told CNN in February, when it was first rumoured that he might be up for an ambassadorship, that he would be open to a job, but had not talked to the White House. “All I've said is I would have an interest in making sure that President Biden's foreign policy is bipartisan,” Flake said. “I certainly have an interest in, like I said, making sure that our foreign policy is bipartisan. But we'll leave that to the Biden administration to make those decisions.”