Woody Johnson, Owner Of New York Jets, Nominated For UK Ambassador

President Donald Trump has officially nominated New York Jets owner and billionaire investor Robert Wood Johnson IV as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, the White House announced Thursday.

In the official statement, the White House cited Johnson’s stint as the CEO and chairman of the Jets for 16 years and mentioned he had served on the President’s Export Council and the President’s Commission on White House Fellows.

Johnson’s nomination will now be confirmed by the Senate in order for him to take up the diplomatic post. However, this move by Trump was widely expected after he referred to the 70-year-old investor as “ambassador” during a luncheon in January. Trump said Johnson was "going to Saint James", in a reference to the official title of ambassador of the United States to the Court of St. James, according to multiple reports. The U.S. ambassador to the U.K. is also known as the ambassador of the United States to the Court of St. James.

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A billionaire member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Johnson was a major Trump donor during the presidential campaign. He was then named the finance chair of the president’s inaugural committee in November. Before switching to Trump’s campaign, Johnson worked for Jeb Bush as finance chairman during the presidential campaign. He has been a veteran Republican donor and has helped raise money for George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney, while these politicians were the party’s nominees.

There were speculations about the Jets CEO giving up his NFL committee assignments and handing over the responsibility of the franchise to his brother, once he was being considered for the post in Trump’s administration. The Jets confirmed the speculations Thursday in a statement.

“The New York Jets have been an integral part of our family since 2000, but this is a unique opportunity for Woody. His patriotism and commitment to our country have always been a passion of his,” Christopher Johnson, Woody Johnson’s brother said in the statement, according to New York Daily News.

In addition to owning the Jets franchise, he is also heir to Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical firm founded by his great grandfather, where his father served as the president for the company.

If confirmed, he will be the successor to Matthew Barzun, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama. Following the confirmation, Johnson’s will live in Winfield House in London, which has been the U.S. ambassador’s official residence since 1955. The mansion stands in second place after Buckingham Palace in terms of largest private gardens in the British capital, the Telegraph reported.

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Johnson has faced questions about tax arrangements with avoidance schemes deployed by his investment firm earlier; however, he cleared all the allegations against him by settling the outstanding taxes and interest with the help of professional advisers, according to the Guardian. He also chairs Lupus Research Alliance, a non profit organization that helps to prevent and cure lupus. He spends a significant amount of time raising funds for several charities that counter diseases like lupus and juvenile diabetes.

The White House also announced Thursday that Trump's pick, Jamie McCourt, a lawyer and former co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, was nominated for the post of U.S. ambassador to Belgium.