New mission for longtime Trump ally and friend Herschel Walker

President-elect Trump has a new plan for Herschel Walker, his longtime friend, ally and former football star.

Three years after Trump hand-picked Walker in a crucial, combative, expensive and high-profile Senate race in his home state of Georgia, the president-elect is now picking his friend from the Bahamas to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Caribbean country.

“Herschel has served for decades as an ambassador to our nation’s youth, our men and women in the military, and athletes at home and abroad,” Trump said in a statement on social media Tuesday night, pointing to Walker’s resume, which includes: During Trump’s first term in the White House, he served as co-chair of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

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Former college and professional football star Herschel Walker (right) speaks at a political rally as former President Trump applauds on September 25, 2021 in Perry, Georgia. (Reuters/Dustin Chambers)

Walker is a former professional and college football star who won a Heisman Trophy and helped lead the University of Georgia to a national championship.

His friendship with the former and future president dates back to his time playing for the New Jersey Generals, the Trump-owned USFL football team, in the 1980s. Walker was also a key Trump supporter and surrogate in the 2020 presidential election.

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In August 2021, Walker launched a Republican Senate campaign in Georgia after months of Trump supporting and encouraging him to run for office.

Walker, a first-time politician, was dogged by controversial statements and damaging revelations about his personal life and business career during his time in the Senate.

Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker of Georgia hosts a campaign rally in Cumming, Georgia on October 27, 2022. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

The race between Walker and Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock was one of the most closely watched Senate battles of the 2022 midterm elections. The contest went into overtime, with Walker narrowly losing to Warnock in a runoff election in December of that year.

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This year, just days before Election Day, Walker joined Trump in the Georgia campaign as the former president carried the key southeastern battleground state after narrowly losing it to President Biden four years ago.

Former NFL running back Herschel Walker speaks to the crowd at a rally for former President Trump in Macon, Georgia, on November 3. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Walker is the third Republican who recently lost a Senate election in Georgia to be nominated by Trump for a post in his second administration.

Former Sen. David Perdue, who lost his seat to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the 2020 cycle, was picked by Trump to serve as ambassador to China, and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who lost to Warnock in the 2020 cycle, was picked by Trump to lead of the Small Business Administration.

Trump’s appointment of Walker as ambassador to the Bahamas is the second time this month that the former soccer star has made headlines.

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This past weekend, Walker graduated from the University of Georgia, 42 years after he last attended the school.