In the midst of nominating U.S. ambassadors to foreign nations, President Donald Trump looked to two of Michigan’s mayors.
Trump announced last Friday that he nominated Amer Ghalib, current mayor of Hamtramck, to serve as ambassador to Kuwait. He announced on Tuesday that Dearborn Heights mayor Bill Bazzi is his pick for ambassador to Tunisia.
Both these men endorsed Trump’s recent presidential campaign. Niraj Warikoo, a Detroit Free Press reporter, joined Stateside to discuss the two nominees' political backgrounds.
Hamtramck spans about two square miles. The city is now home to the highest percentage of immigrants among all cities in Michigan. The city was once majority Polish, but today, many residents have roots in Yemen and Bangladesh. Now, Ghalib serves as Hamtramck’s first non-Polish mayor.
Before running for mayor, Ghalib attended Ross University’s medical school in 2021, but it is disputed whether or not he graduated with a medical degree, Warikoo said. Ghalib was also active in issues related to Yemen, and as part of the Sunni community, Ghalib frequently meets with mosque leaders.
In his mayoral campaign, Ghalib supported a ban on flying LGBTQ, religious, ethnic and political flags on city government property. He also supported increasing diversity in City Hall. Warikoo noted that Ghalib has since followed through on both of those promises.
Ghalib received pushback from Hamtramck’s LGBTQ community after city council voted on the flag ban in 2023, Warikoo said.
“They spoke out at city council meetings because there is an LGBTQ presence in Hamtramck,” Warikoo said. “It's been there for years. One thing that people say in defense of the conservatives in Hamtramck is that other cities took similar moves, but they didn't get as much as of a national outrage.”
Ghalib once referred to Saddam Hussein, who invaded Kuwait in 1990, as a martyr, according to the conservative Middle East Forum.
"I'm not sure if he's changed his views,” Warikoo said. “I think he has strong views about Yemen. And according to him, the intervention of the West sometimes has caused problems in the Arab world. It is the context in which he was talking about things like that, but how it may affect his relation with Kuwait, I'm not sure.”
Nominations for ambassador require Senate confirmation. If Ghalib is confirmed and leaves Hamtramck, the next mayor of the city would be Hamtramck Mayor Pro Tem Khalil Refai.
Bazzi has served as the mayor of Dearborn Heights since January 2021 when he was elected with 72% of the vote. He immigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon at 10 years old, and since graduated from Fordham School. Before serving as mayor, Bazzi served in the U.S. Marines and worked for Ford Motor Company, Warikoo said.
Warikoo highlighted some of the tensions in Dearborn Heights' city leadership. In December, Bazzi appointed the first Arab-American and Muslim police chief in Dearborn Heights after some in the community voiced their desire for greater Arab American representation in the police department and in City Hall. Just a few weeks ago, however, the police chief was allegedly forced out and replaced.
Some white police officers also filed a lawsuit alleging bias against white people by Arab American city council members.
“In Dearborn Heights, there’s a concern,” Warikoo said. “As Arab Americans try to get more political power, they feel that there should be more representation and there's an underrepresentation. The other side says, ‘Well, you have to go by the rules of tenure,’ and the rules of ‘We were here before and we have a right to be promoted and become police chief.’”
If Bazzi is confirmed as ambassador to Tunisia and leaves Dearborn Heights, the City Council will vote for the new mayor to replace Bazzi.
Find Niraj Warikoo's full coverage of the Hamtramck and Dearborn Heights communities here.
Hear his conversation with Stateside on today's podcast.
