Trump Nominates Natalie Baker as US Ambassador to Pakistan
United States President Donald Trump has nominated Natalie Baker, the current charge d’affaires at the United States embassy in Islamabad, to serve as the next ambassador to Pakistan.
The White House sent the nomination to the United States Senate on Monday. If the Senate confirms her, Ms Baker will become the first permanent American ambassador to Pakistan since Donald Blome left the post in early 2025.
The nomination will first go to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will review it before it moves to a vote by the full Senate. Until confirmation, Ms Baker will keep leading the mission in Islamabad in her current role.
Natalie Baker: a career diplomat takes charge
Ms Baker has led the United States Mission in Pakistan as charge d’affaires since January 2025, after Mr Blome’s departure. She arrived in Islamabad as deputy chief of mission in August 2024, so she already knows the country, its politics and its power brokers.
She is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, in the class of minister-counsellor, and her record spans some of the hardest posts in American diplomacy. Before Islamabad, she served as deputy chief of mission at the United States embassy in Doha from August 2021 to July 2024.
She also served as deputy chief of mission and charge d’affaires of the United States Mission to Libya, as deputy director of the Iran Regional Presence Office at the United States consulate in Dubai, and as economic counsellor at the United States embassy in Kuwait. She later served as director of the Office of North African Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
From 2009 to 2011, she worked as the political and economic counsellor in Libya, as the bilateral relationship normalised after a pause of nearly 30 years. She stayed in Libya until the revolution forced the embassy to evacuate in February 2011. She had also served earlier as a consular officer in Islamabad, and she holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University.
Why the post stayed empty
The ambassador’s post in Islamabad has stood vacant since Mr Blome left in January 2025, shortly after Mr Trump returned to office. Ms Baker stepped in as charge d’affaires and has run the mission through a testing stretch in the relationship.
That stretch has included war between Iran and Israel, a ceasefire in Gaza, and a sharp rise in tensions between the United States and Iran. Pakistan has had to balance ties with Washington, Tehran, Riyadh and Beijing at the same time, and the embassy in Islamabad has been at the centre of that work.
A permanent ambassador carries more weight than a charge d’affaires, both with the host government and inside Washington. The nomination signals that the White House wants a confirmed envoy in place as it manages the region.
What confirmation involves
Senate confirmation is not automatic, but career diplomats with Ms Baker’s record usually pass through the process without a fight. The Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing, ask about her plans for the post, and then vote on whether to send the nomination to the full Senate.
The timing matters. Pakistan and the United States have been talking closely through the Iran crisis, and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has pressed Pakistan’s case on water rights and regional security. A confirmed ambassador would give those talks a steadier channel.
The nomination also comes as Pakistan deepens defence ties with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. The Makkah Defence Alliance will hold its next committee meeting in Islamabad, and Washington will want its envoy in place as that pact takes shape.
What happens next
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will set a date for Ms Baker’s confirmation hearing. If the committee clears her, the full Senate will vote, and she will then take up the post formally.
Until then, she will keep running the embassy as charge d’affaires. Pakistan has already condemned attacks on Saudi Arabia and backed Riyadh’s security, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Turkiye for the COP31 climate summit, so the embassy’s workload will stay heavy either way. Dawn reported the nomination.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Natalie Baker?
She is the current charge d’affaires at the United States embassy in Islamabad, and President Donald Trump has nominated her to serve as the next ambassador to Pakistan.
When did she take charge of the embassy?
She became charge d’affaires in January 2025, after ambassador Donald Blome left the post. She had arrived in Islamabad as deputy chief of mission in August 2024.
What happens next in the process?
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will review the nomination and hold a hearing, and the full Senate will then vote on whether to confirm her.
Why has the post been empty for so long?
The post has stood vacant since Donald Blome left in early 2025, shortly after President Trump returned to office, and Ms Baker has led the mission in the meantime.
Where did she serve before Pakistan?
She was deputy chief of mission in Doha from 2021 to 2024, and she has also served in Libya, Dubai, Kuwait and Washington, including as director of the Office of North African Affairs.
