We decided to share this article with readers of BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which has a huge following among the Bahamian diaspora across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom as well as in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean. The Nassau Guardian published this article by Rachel Scott on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.
Rachel Scott
Guardian Staff Reporter
rachel@nasguard.com
Herschel Walker was confirmed yesterday as the United States’ ambassador to The Bahamas — the first in over a decade.
He and more than 100 other nominees were confirmed in a single Senate vote, due to a change in the rules that allowed for the quicker confirmation of US President Donald Trump’s nominees.
Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said yesterday that he looks forward to working with Walker.
“We welcome Ambassador Walker and look forward to continuing our close and constructive partnership with the United States, grounded in friendship, mutual respect, and shared commitment to the progress of our peoples,” Davis said.
Walker, a former NFL player, unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Georgia Senate in 2022.
US President Donald Trump named Walker as his pick for US ambassador to The Bahamas in December 2024.
At the time of the nomination, Trump described Walker as a “successful businessman, philanthropist, former Heisman Trophy winner, NFL great” and a “tireless advocate for youth sports”.
During his nomination hearing last month before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Walker highlighted China’s influence and a growing drug smuggling problem in The Bahamas as key issues he would prioritize as ambassador.
“China is trying to increase its influence in the region,” he said.
“It has built nearly a $3 billion deepwater port in The Bahamas, and has made other moves that can threaten our national security.
“There is a rise in drug smuggling there in The Bahamas, and this is a real danger to the United States.
“The threat to American lives cannot be overstated. Tackling this serious problem requires leadership and cooperation between our governments.
“Through Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT), the United States works collaboratively with the northern Caribbean to disrupt illegal trafficking. If confirmed, I will see that this initiative continues to be strong.”
Walker would be the first US ambassador to The Bahamas since Nicole Avant left in 2011.
Several chargé d’affaires have been appointed since then, but despite ambassador nominees being put forward by various US presidents since Avant’s departure, none have been confirmed to the post.
Last summer, Kimberly Furnish arrived as the new US charge d’affaires to The Bahamas.
The new $318 million US Embassy in Nassau, which sits on five acres off Shirley Street, just last month opened to the public.