Mayor continues to wait to be confirmed by Senate for ambassadorship

Mayor Amer Ghalib is still waiting for a date to be set for his confirmation hearing with the U.S. Senate on his nomination to be the next ambassador to Kuwait. File photo

By Charles Sercombe
So far, there is still no date set for Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib’s Senate hearing on his confirmation to be the U.S. ambassador to Kuwait.
President Trump nominated Ghalib to be the next ambassador to Kuwait back in March, an apparent reward for Ghalib supporting him for president, and for convincing many others in the Arab-American community to ditch the Democratic Party and vote for Trump.
In the meantime, the U.S. State Department issued a background statement on Ghalib that described him as being a farmer from Yemen who emigrated to the U.S. when he was 17 years old, and finished his senior year at Hamtramck High School in 2000 while at the same time working in an auto parts factory.
The State Department bio went on to say that Ghalib earned a bachelor’s degree in Biological Science at Wayne State University, attended the Ross University School of Medicine’s Doctor of Medicine (MD) program between 2006 and 2011, and received a B.S.N. from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2020.
Curiously, his biography does not say that he graduated from Ross, which confirms an earlier Detroit Free Press report that the school, located in Barbados, does not have a record of him graduating.
The Review also called the school to confirm whether Ghalib ever graduated or attended the school, but was told that his records could not be released without Ghalib’s permission.
The Review asked Ghalib for permission to confirm his attendance there, but he did not respond, nor has he responded as to whether he graduated from the school.
In the past Ghalib has said he has a medical degree from the school.
Even President Trump has referred to Ghalib as graduate with a medical degree.
“Amer (Ghalib) earned his M.D. from the Ross University School of Medicine, and continues to serve his community as a proud healthcare professional,” Trump said in a statement.
Whether Ghalib has a medical degree or not, one thing is for sure: he is a registered nurse with the state of Michigan.
According to the State Department, Ghalib “organizes educational health sessions, focusing on screening, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the most common medical illnesses in the community.”
His biography concluded with:
“His multi-cultural experience, deep regional knowledge, and demonstrated success as a politician, leader, and community organizer, make him a well-qualified candidate to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the State of Kuwait.”
While there is strong support from the Trump administration, there has been some opposition to Ghalib’s appointment from Jewish organizations.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has been the most prominent critic of Ghalib, and accused him of “routinely trafficking in antisemitism.”
The ADL has further said, in a statement:
“As ADL’s recent Global 100 poll revealed, Kuwait has the second highest levels of antisemitic attitudes in the world, at 97%, and having Ghalib represent U.S. interests in Kuwait could further fuel antisemitic beliefs in the country and across the region.”
The ADL also criticized Ghalib “for supporting the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, attempted to justify the 10/7 massacre, and refusing to take disciplinary action against an appointee who attempted to justify the Holocaust.”
(The “10/7 massacre” refers to an attack by Hamas militants who on Oct. 7, 2023 invaded Israel and killed about 1,400 Israelis.)
BDS refers to a pro-Palestinian movement, formed in 2005, that calls for the “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” of, from and against Israel in response to their treatment of Palestinians.
In 2019, President Trump condemned the movement, saying:
“My administration will never tolerate the suppression, persecution or silencing of the Jewish people. We forcefully condemn this anti-Semitic campaign against the state of Israel and its citizens.”
Under the direction of the city’s all-male and all-Muslim city council, and with the support of Mayor Ghalib, Hamtramck was the first Michigan city to withdraw any financial investments involving Israel.
Ghalib justified taking that action, saying that a Jewish attorney urged the council to adopt this measure.
(The attorney in question is Matthew Clark, who is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace.)
“It was Jewish activists who came here to ask us to take that resolution,” Ghalib said. “It was a Jewish lawyer who drafted that. So, there is no way you can call this antisemitism.”
Ghalib also noted that, in 2022, the council passed a resolution condemning antisemitism – one of the few cities to take that action.
“So you can’t believe the media – especially those yellow media,” Ghalib added. “They have political goals to publish these things at this time.”
At a pro-Palestinian rally at Zussman Park, Ghalib justified Palestinian violence against Israel for its brutality against Palestinians, and denied that sexual violence happened against Israelis when Hamas militants invaded Israel on Oct. 7 in 2023.
At the pro-Palestinian rally in 2023, Ghalib said:
“If you start killing my children in front of my eyes, then I will use every means available for me to resist. I don’t care what names you would call me.
“If you classify a person as a terrorist, other people in different parts of the world consider him as a freedom fighter. So not everyone agrees with our government. …”
The U.S. government classifies Hamas as a terrorist organization.
President Trump has previously called for anyone who is not a citizen and who speaks in favor of Hamas to be deported. Trump’s administration has also cracked down on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, and said it will deport foreign students who participate in the protests.
Posted July 11, 2025