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Good afternoon, Press Pass readers. Next week should be calm and relaxing, but we all know that when Trump is in the White House, nothing, let alone serenity, is guaranteed. Consider upgrading your subscription to a Bulwark+ membership at the link below, and support our work as we get you clear reporting and analysis on the administration, even during the most wonderful time of the year. Sign up for an annual subscription, and you’ll get your first 30 days on us:
Today’s edition returns to the long-running confirmation process for one of Trump’s strangest nominees: Australian-born masculinity influencer Nick Adams. After toning down his online persona as an “alpha male,” Adams has gotten back into surly shenanigans. It might be owed to frustration: His nomination isn’t moving very fast, while other posts in less-consequential regions of the globe are advancing through the Senate. The sort of rhetoric Adams is leaning into would probably imperil a nominee in more normal times. But you know these aren’t normal times.
In addition, another discharge petition secured enough signatures to force a vote. It’s a major win for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whose gamble on Affordable Care Act subsidy extensions appears to have paid off. Lastly, if you’re feeling up to a challenge, I have a Christmas recipe that I hope our Bulwark+ readers will enjoy. All that and more, below.
Trump’s Hooters-Loving Ambassador Nominee Is Getting Antsy
The Australian-born "Alpha Male" is spending his days posting online
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Sinking Ambassadorship
Nick Adams, President Donald Trump’s self-described alpha-male, Hooters-loving choice to serve as United States ambassador to Malaysia, hasn’t gotten much traction in the Senate since Trump nominated him several months ago.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee hasn’t yet scheduled a hearing for Adams. Many of Malaysia’s neighboring countries have active ambassadors, including holdovers from previous administrations and newly confirmed Trump selections. But ASEAN—the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to which Malaysia belongs—is doing particularly poorly on the confirmed-ambassador front.
Out of the association’s eleven member states, three have ambassador vacancies and three are being served by holdovers pending the confirmation of Trump’s nominees to replace them. Such is the case with Adams.¹
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