Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
President Donald Trump has nominated State Sen. Doug Mastriano to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia, the White House announced in a statement Monday afternoon.
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Mastriano, a Franklin County Republican and former gubernatorial candidate, confirmed the nomination in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“I am deeply honored and humbled by President Trump’s nomination to serve as United States Ambassador to the Slovak Republic,” Mastriano wrote. “Upon Senate confirmation, I look forward to representing our nation abroad, strengthening the friendship between our two countries, and advancing the interests of the American people.”
Mastriano stated he intends to remain in the Pennsylvania Senate until confirmation.
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His nomination to the diplomatic post in Slovakia will come before a U.S. Senate committee for confirmation.
“Congratulations to Senator Mastriano for being nominated to serve as Ambassador to Slovakia. I know you will do an excellent job and put America’s interests first,” State Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, a Republican, said. “Wish you the best through the confirmation process.”
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Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said Mastriano will be “a great ambassador.”
Mastriano was the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor in 2022. He lost the race to Democrat Josh Shapiro by close to 15 percentage points.
Earlier this year, Mastriano declined to pursue a second gubernatorial run in 2026 after the state Republican Party and top GOP officials endorsed state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, which frustrated him.
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“This does not mean we’re stepping away,” he said at the time. “We’re staying in the movement.”
A staunch ally of the president, Mastriano was a prominent supporter of Trump’s claims regarding the 2020 election. After Democrat Joe Biden was elected, Mastriano unsuccessfully lobbied the Pennsylvania legislature to overturn the commonwealth’s vote.
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Mastriano, a U.S. Army veteran, was outside the U.S. Capitol and past police lines during the Jan 6., 2021 insurrection, but he did not enter the building, according to CBS News.
