Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Singapore faced sharp criticism during his Senate confirmation hearing after repeatedly failing to answer questions on US-Singapore relations and broader Southeast Asian affairs.
Anjani Sinha’s hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was marked by a tense exchange with Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, who said the nominee was "not currently prepared for this posting" and even accused him of treating the role like a "glamour posting".
The exchange went viral on social media in Singapore and prompted widespread ridicule, with commentators calling him “more embarassador than ambassador”.
Mr Sinha, an orthopaedic and sports medicine surgeon originally from India, was nominated for the position in March.
He has no diplomatic experience but has long been a supporter of Mr Trump, with Republican senator Lindsey Graham introducing him as “a friend of President Trump for over a decade”, the BBC reported.
The president, in his nomination statement, described Mr Sinha as “a highly respected entrepreneur, with an incredible family!”
Mr Sinha struggled under questioning. When asked about the US trade surplus with Singapore, he gave an incorrect figure of $80bn, then $18bn, before Senator Duckworth clarified it was $2.8bn in 2024.
Dr. Anjani Sinha is deeply unprepared to effectively lead our nation’s diplomatic mission in Singapore.⁰ ⁰He will not have my vote. pic.twitter.com/ACK8HhvUkO
— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) July 9, 2025
To questions about how he would explain Mr Trump’s recent 10 per cent tariff on Singaporean goods and when Singapore would next chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc, Mr Sinha gave answers ending with “the dialogue is not closed”.
He incorrectly claimed Malaysia held the Asean chair and was unaware that Singapore would take over in 2027. “You’ve not even done your homework, sir," Senator Duckworth said. “You think this is a glamour posting, that you’re going to live a nice life in Singapore, when what we need is someone who can actually do the work.”
She added that Singapore was “one of the most important alliances and friends” that the US had in the Indo-Pacific.
In his testimony, Mr Sinha described himself as a “lifelong bridge builder” and said he hoped to strengthen ties with Singapore in areas such as defence, trade and technology.
He cited a personal connection with Singaporean foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan and spoke of shared cultural values.
Mr Sinha is likely still to be confirmed given the Republican majority in the Senate.
Prof Joseph Liow, Southeast Asian politics expert at Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said that the nominee "could have been better prepared" but pointed out that Singapore had historically maintained strong ties with the US regardless of the ambassador in place.
“It is true he did not give the best account during the hearings and could have been better prepared,” he told the South China Morning Post. “It probably did not help that he was quizzed by Tammy Duckworth, who has a distinguished military record, is very familiar with Southeast Asia and speaks a few regional languages.”
Former Singaporean diplomat Bilahari Kausikan urged the public not to rush to judgment, noting that even ambassadors with rocky confirmation hearings, such as Richard Kniep under president Jimmy Carter, had served the relationship well.
“We should treat the new ambassador with courtesy and respect and not prejudge him,” he said on his social media page.
In January, Senator Duckworth similarly grilled Mr Trump’s pick for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, who could not name a single Asean country. Mr Hegseth was confirmed.
