No confirmation vote yet on new US envoy – embassy

MANILA, Philippines — The confirmation vote on the nomination of businessman-turned-diplomat Lee Lipton as the next United States ambassador to the Philippines has not yet taken place, the US embassy said yesterday.

The embassy clarified that the Senate confirmation hearing on US President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as ambassador to Manila took place on March 5, but there was no voting yet.

Trump nominated Lipton in October 2025 but his nomination was not confirmed due to procedural gridlock in the US Congress.

He was nominated again on Jan. 13, 2026.

At the Senate foreign relations committee hearing on March 5, Lipton faced questions on China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific and how he plans to strengthen the US-Philippines alliance.

Lipton said his goal is to deepen US-Philippine security cooperation, strengthen supply chains, advance the Luzon Economic Corridor initiative and promote fair and transparent trade through close engagement with the Senate committee, US interagency partners and Philippine allies.

Lipton served since January 2025 as chief of staff to the US Mission to the Organization of American States, US Department of State, where he helped lead US engagement on a range of regional challenges, including the deteriorating security situation in Haiti, and efforts to counter malign influence, particularly from the Chinese Communist Party within the Inter-American System.