Trump nominates Dino LaVerghetta as next US ambassador to Kuwait
White House sends nomination to Senate; Washington lawyer and former Trump White House official has experience in senior appointments, national security and government affairs
The Times Kuwait Report
The White House has nominated Dino LaVerghetta, a Virginia resident and former Trump White House official, to serve as the United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the State of Kuwait.
The nomination was formally sent to the US Senate on September 28, 2026, placing LaVerghetta among a group of diplomatic and senior federal nominees whose appointments require Senate consideration. If confirmed, LaVerghetta would take up one of Washington’s key diplomatic posts in the Gulf at a time when US-Kuwait relations encompass security cooperation, regional stability, trade, investment and defence.
Former White House counsel
LaVerghetta is a lawyer who has held senior positions within the White House Counsel’s Office during both of President Donald Trump’s administrations. According to his professional biography at law firm Sidley Austin, he served for about three years during Trump’s first administration, eventually becoming Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Special Assistant to the President.
His responsibilities included providing legal advice concerning the selection, nomination and appointment of Supreme Court justices, federal judges, Cabinet members and other senior officials. He also worked on the background-investigation and confirmation process for Senate-confirmed nominees.
LaVerghetta returned to the White House at the beginning of Trump’s second administration as Senior Counsel to the President, where he again worked on Senate-confirmed nominations as well as legal matters involving national-security clearances and background investigations.
Legal and government affairs background
LaVerghetta is currently a partner at Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C. His practice covers government strategy, regulatory litigation and government investigations, with experience involving highly regulated industries.He has also worked on issues involving artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous systems, drones, energy, finance, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. He is a co-founder of the firm’s Robotics, Automation and Drones team.
In June 2026, he was appointed a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States, a federal agency that studies and makes recommendations concerning administrative law and federal regulatory procedures. His two-year term began July 1.
Education and legal career
LaVerghetta graduated summa cum laude from Boston University in 2003 and received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from New York University School of Law in 2006. He is admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court and several federal appellate and district courts. His professional biography also notes an active pro bono practice involving constitutional, religious-liberty and civil-rights matters.
Senate confirmation next
LaVerghetta’s nomination does not by itself make him ambassador. The White House has submitted his nomination to the Senate, which must consider and confirm nominees for ambassadorial posts.
The nomination places a lawyer with extensive White House and federal-government experience in consideration for Washington’s diplomatic mission in Kuwait.For Kuwait, his confirmation would mark the arrival of a US ambassador whose professional background has been concentrated largely in White House legal affairs, senior appointments, government policy and national-security-related matters, rather than the traditional career Foreign Service track.
