President Trump names Ambassador to Samoa

Apia, Samoa – 25 January 2025 – US President Donald Trump has announced Jared Novelly the new US Ambassador to Samoa.

Trump made the announcement on a social media post where he called Novelly “a highly respected philanthropist, and Chairman of Crest Sports and Entertainment and Crest Management.

“He will fight hard to protect our Nation’s interests in the Indo-Pacific, and always put AMERICA FIRST.”

Novelly is the owner of the Illiwarra Hawks basketball team and a shareholder in the East Asia Superleague.

Crest Sports and Entertainment is described as an Australian-American investment company.

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Novelly’s corporate records show he was appointed a director of the Illawarra Hawks in 2020, “but is better known in his hometown of St Louis, Missouri, as a member of the wealthy Apex Oil family,” headed by Paul Anthony Novelly.

The White House has not yet made an official announcement after Trump’s social media post.

Novelly would replace Joe Biden appointee and former Democrat Congressman and Senator Tom Udall, who has stepped down from the post.