Less than a month after Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., was defeated for reelection by a wafer thin 604 votes, the two-term lawmaker and first Korean-American woman to serve in Congress is under serious consideration to be the U.S. ambassador to South Korea.
Newsmax learned Friday that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has privately urged President-elect Donald Trump to name the Seoul-born Steel as ambassador and that two former GOP speakers — Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. — have also weighed in with Trump to tap Steel for the South Korea portfolio.
Interest in South Korea and just who Trump sends there to speak for the U.S. has risen dramatically in the last week. Not only was President Yoon Suk Yeol impeached for his never-anticipated late night declaration of martial law Dec. 3, but his successor, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was himself impeached on Friday for complicity in Yoon's power grab.
With Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok now moving into the Blue House (South Korea's presidential palace), there is growing concern in Washington that North Korea could take advantage of the ongoing political turmoil in South Korea and even take military action against one of the U.S.' most important allies in the Pacific.
Steel, 69, has close relationships with many of the political leaders in South Korea, supporters note, and also has an excellent relationship with Trump. During her recent reelection bid, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Steel is "an America First Patriot" who "has my complete and total endorsement."
A small businesswoman who served as a member of the California Board of Equalization and as Orange County supervisor before winning her first term in 2020, Steel is well-connected in the Korean-American business community and in international business circles.
Trump is expected to make a decision on the ambassadorship to South Korea in the next week.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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