Former prime minister Kevin Rudd is stepping down as Australia’s ambassador to the United States at the end of March, a year earlier than originally anticipated, with the government confirming his posting will formally wrap in Washington in late March 2026.
“On behalf of our nation, we thank Kevin for his service to Australia, and for taking forward Australia’s interests with our closest security ally,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a press conference today.
“It has been a complex area that’s seen a change of presidency,” Albanese continued.
“Kevin Rudd developed relationships across the board, across congress, across the Senate, across Democrat and Republican members, and of course, as well across civil society and across officials.”
Rudd, who has been in the role since March 2023, is expected to shift back into the global think‑tank world and take up a senior leadership role with the Asia Society, the international policy organisation he has long been linked to.
Rudd’s exit comes after a rocky period in the relationship between the ambassador and US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly bristled at Rudd’s old social media posts and commentary about his presidency. Before he was appointed ambassador, Rudd had labelled Trump “the most destructive president in history” and a “traitor to the West” in now‑deleted posts.
Those tensions spilled out very publicly in October last year when Trump looked Rudd in the eye during a White House meeting with Albanese and said, “I don’t like you either, and I probably never will” after relearning that Rudd had said “bad” things him, prompting awkward laughter around the Cabinet Room table.
Rudd later reportedly privately apologised to Trump for his past criticism, with Australian officials saying the president “forgave” him after the meeting even as the federal opposition back home argued his position had become untenable.
Despite that drama, Albanese and senior ministers repeatedly backed Rudd to stay on, arguing he was doing “an excellent job” in Washington and pointing to his work building support for AUKUS and maintaining strong links on Capitol Hill.
With his term now ending ahead of schedule, attention turns to who the government will send in next to manage an alliance that has only become more complex and more politically sensitive in the Trump era.
Lead image: AP News
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