U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack waits to enter General Assembly Hall to attend President Trump’s speech at the 80th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, September 23, 2025.
Gina Moon | Reuters
Mark Savaya, who was named special envoy for Iraq by US President Donald Trump in October, is no longer serving in that role, sources said.
The move comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Baghdad over Washington’s push to curb Iranian influence in Iraqi politics.
Savaya, a Christian Iraqi-American entrepreneur, was one of the few Arab Americans nominated by President Trump to senior positions and campaigned extensively to win Arab and Muslim votes in Detroit and across the country in the 2024 presidential election.
It was not immediately clear why Savaya resigned or whether a replacement would be appointed. One of the sources said Sabaya had “mishandled” critical moments, including failing to block the nomination of former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki as Iraq’s next prime minister, and Trump had publicly warned Baghdad.
Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, who traveled to Erbil earlier this week to meet with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, is expected to take over the State Department’s Iraq portfolio, according to sources and senior Iraqi officials.
A spokesperson for Barrack declined to comment.
The State Department referred inquiries to the White House, which declined to comment on Savaya’s status or replacement.
In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Sabaya denied any changes to his role and said he was still working through the necessary paperwork to formally assume the role. He said he expected the process to be completed soon.
Savaya’s X account was active until recently, but has been unavailable since Thursday.
He did not respond to follow-up messages on Friday and Saturday asking him to clarify whether he was still fulfilling his appointed role and to explain why his X account was deleted.
Mr. Sabaya, who runs a marijuana business in Detroit and has close ties to President Trump, had no diplomatic experience, so his selection as special envoy was a surprise. He has not officially visited Iraq since being appointed to the role, two people familiar with the matter said.
The prime minister was scheduled to visit Iraq last Friday to meet with senior officials, but canceled at the last minute, two Iraqi officials said.
The personnel move comes days after President Trump warned Iraq that if Iraq chose Maliki as prime minister again, Washington would no longer support the big oil producer and would be closer to U.S. allies. Maliki, who has been accused by the United States of inciting sectarian tensions and allowing the rise of Islamic State during his time in office, had been selected for the role by Iraq’s largest parliamentary coalition days earlier.
President Trump’s comments were the most blatant example of the president’s campaign to curb the influence of Iran-linked groups in Iraq. Iraq has long walked a tightrope between its two closest allies, the United States and Iran.
