Bill White, who helped spearhead the Buckhead City movement, has been chosen as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to Belgium. (Hyosub Shin, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)
President-elect Donald Trump intends to nominate Bill White as the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, recognizing a major fundraiser who contributed millions to his campaigns, despite causing some tension within Georgia’s Republican circles, News.Az reports citing the Stars and Stripes.
White quickly emerged as a political force after moving to Georgia from New York, stamping himself as an influential local MAGA booster and the leader of a yearslong effort to split Atlanta into two municipalities.
In a statement released Saturday, Trump called White a “highly respected businessman, philanthropist, author and advocate” for military and veterans, singling out his work championing the floating military museum aboard the World War II-era aircraft carrier the USS Intrepid.
White told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he and his husband Bryan Eure spoke with Trump late Friday and “learned how important this post is to him.”
“We look forward to working tirelessly and giving our all in support of President Trump as he implements his critically important America First policies,” he said. White, who must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, is the latest Trump ally to be rewarded with a post in his incoming administration. Trump also tapped former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins and former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler to Cabinet-level posts. And the president-elect said he’ll nominate former U.S. Sen. David Perdue as his ambassador to China.
An elite fundraiser in New York, White moved to Georgia in 2018 to be closer to Eure’s family and soon began mingling in GOP political and donor circles. After the 2020 election, White helped raise funds to underwrite Trump’s legal team as it questioned vote counts in several states. White called for recounts and court challenges seeking to overturn the election.