President-elect Donald Trump has named Florida real estate investor Steven Witkoff, a close friend with no foreign policy experience, to be a special envoy to the Middle East, he announced on Tuesday night.

The pick comes the same day as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was announced as the president-elect’s pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel. Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel’s interests as it wages wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Trump’s transition team did not offer details about the Middle East envoy role, but unlike ambassadorships it will not require Senate confirmation.

What You Need To Know

  • President-elect Donald Trump has named Florida real estate investor Steven Witkoff, a close friend with no foreign policy experience, to be a special envoy to the Middle East, he announced on Tuesday night

  • Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel’s interests as it wages wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon

  • Trump’s transition team did not offer details about the Middle East envoy role, but unlike ambassadorships it will not require Senate confirmation

  • Witkoff is the president-elect’s golf partner and was with Trump when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida in September

“Steve is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy, who has made every project and community he has been involved with stronger and more prosperous. Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud,” Trump said in a statement.

Witkoff is the president-elect’s golf partner and was with Trump when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida in September. Over the weekend, Trump tapped Witkoff to help lead his inaugural committee alongside former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler. During Trump’s first term, Trump named him to the board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.

Witkoff’s appointment came as Trump has begun to shape his foreign policy team, with New York Rep. Elise Stefanik named his nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz set to be his national security adviser and former national intelligence director John Ratcliffe tapped to be CIA director. 

“The president is a lifelong friend of mine, and he is one of the best men I have ever known. I speak about him often, and I like to tell people about his humanity, his sensitivity, his empathy,” Witkoff said at a Trump rally in Georgia during the closing days of the campaign. 

Witkoff’s son died of an OxyContin overdose in 2011 and he has spoken frequently about Trump’s support of him in the aftermath. A New York native, he first met Trump in the 1980s as a real estate lawyer fresh out of law school. 

His real estate firm “successfully lead the financing, repositioning, and construction of over 70 properties” in the U.S. and abroad, according to Trump’s transition team.

President Joe Biden’s administration has a special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues within the State Department, which was formed in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that triggered a larger conflict. The role is dedicated to getting humanitarian aid into Gaza, where Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians in a little over a year, according to local health officials. The position is currently held by Lisa Grande, a former U.N. official with decades of experience working on humanitarian missions in the region. 

It’s not clear if Witkoff would serve in a similar role or have a different set of responsibilities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.