US President Donald Trump has nominated businessman and philanthropist Benjamin Landa to serve as the next US Ambassador to Hungary. According to The Washington Post’s appointee tracker, Landa was referred to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on 2 October.
The news was confirmed by Bryan Leib, who had long been considered a potential candidate to fill the post vacated by Joe Biden’s controversial ambassador David Pressman. In a post on X, Leib extended his ‘heartfelt congratulations’ to Landa and thanked several Republican members of Congress for their support of his own potential nomination over the past 10 months. Concluding his message, he underlined that ‘Hungary is a critical ally for the US,’ adding that he had no doubt that under Trump the two countries’ relations would reach ‘new heights.’
Landa’s nomination must now be confirmed by the Senate before he can take up the position.
Born and based in New York, Landa built much of his reputation in the healthcare sector—most notably as co-founder and CEO of SentosaCare LLC, which owns and manages nursing home facilities. He is also active in Jewish communal and charitable causes, supporting synagogues and religious institutions in both the United States and Israel.
According to the Jewish news site Belaaz, Landa had been lobbying for the position for some time, reportedly meeting with Trump in the Oval Office in late September alongside Roger Stone, a long-time advisor and friend of Landa.
Pressman, whose tenure was widely seen as detrimental to bilateral relations, left his post in January when Trump assumed office for his second term as President of the United States. Since March, senior diplomat Robert Palladino has served as Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Budapest. Leib also praised Palladino in his X post, describing his ‘professionalism and commitment’ to strengthening American–Hungarian relations as ‘outstanding.’
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