‘Churlish’: Liberal Senator Plays Down Calls to Remove US Ambassador Rudd

Liberal Senator Jane Hume has described the call for Australia’s ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, to resign as “a little bit churlish.”

Hume praised the efforts of Rudd, a former Prime Minister of Australia, in advancing Australia’s interests in Washington, including securing a critical minerals and rare earths deal for Australia.

“The call for Kevin Rudd to resign or stand down, the call for his position to be untenable,  is probably a little bit churlish,” Hume told Sky News.

She said the work on critical minerals and rare earths has clearly been done by Kevin Rudd personally.

“I was having dinner with the chairman of a rare earths company that had been over to the U.S. recently as part of a delegation that Kevin Rudd had organised,” she said.

“He said it was a real door-opening experience, that there was access given to some of the highest levels in the administration.

“I think that he should be acknowledged for that good work.”

Her comments contrast with those made by Shadow Foreign Minister Michaelia Cash, who wrote on X on Oct. 21: “A regrettable moment in Washington. The responsible step now is to recall Kevin Rudd and reset.”

Liberal Party members have been speaking freely, and often at odds with each other, on a range of issues since the convincing Federal election loss in May.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley echoed this sentiment, saying the prime minister’s appointment of Rudd was a “political choice, not one made in our nation’s best interests.”

“Rudd publicly attacked Donald Trump in 2020, yet the Prime Minister still made him our ambassador,” Ley said on Facebook.

However, when asked on Oct. 22 whether Rudd should be sacked, she softened her stance: “Kevin Rudd is the prime minister’s choice for ambassador—it’s a big job,” she told reporters.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed Rudd, saying Rudd was one of the hardest-working diplomats in Canberra’s network.

“If there’s a harder worker ambassador, then please let me know and get them care, because Kevin works his guts out and he seems to know everyone in the U.S. system,” Albanese said on Oct. 21.

What Happened?

Rudd’s past comments about Trump came to the fore during a White House press conference on Oct. 20, when Albanese and Trump signed a historic critical minerals deal.

Back in 2020, Rudd had described Trump as the “most destructive president” in U.S. history.

In response, Trump quipped, “I don’t know anything about him. I mean, if he’s said bad, maybe he’ll like to apologise, I really don’t know,” Trump said.

Albanese was laughing and smiling during the exchange, as Trump turned to the Australian Prime Minister and asked: “Did an ambassador say something bad about me?”

Albanese then said, “Yeah, yeah,” and made a hand gesture towards Ambassador Rudd, who was sitting directly opposite.

Trump looked over at Rudd and said, “You said bad?” to which Rudd said honestly, “Before I took this role, Mr. President.”

Trump responded, “I don’t like you either. I don’t, and I probably never will.”

According to the travelling press, the pair appeared to smooth things over following the exchange, which also included U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President J.D. Vance.

During the meeting, Trump also stated that the U.S. was “way ahead of China” in every form of military technology, except for the latter’s extensive shipbuilding capabilities.

“We’ll be catching them on that,” Trump said.

Australia and the U.S signed a rare earths and critical minerals agreement that aims to see $53 billion worth of resources being retrieved to counteract Beijing’s growing influence.