WASHINGTON –

Herschel Walker, the soccer legend who unsuccessfully ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia, has been chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to be ambassador to the Bahamas.

Trump made the announcement on Tuesday in a post on Truth Social, his social media website. He described Walker as “a successful businessman, philanthropist and former Heisman Trophy winner.”

Walker, a Republican, tried to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock two years ago with Trump’s support. During the campaign, Walker benefited from nearly unrivaled name recognition from his football career at the University of Georgia and in the NFL. However, his efforts were unsuccessful as he was unable to escape a series of damaging allegations, including claims that he paid for the abortions of two former girlfriends, even though he supported a nationwide ban on the procedure.

He campaigned for Trump this year in his home state of Georgia.

To hold the ambassadorship, Walker must have his nomination approved by the Republican-led Senate next year.

Trump also announced Tuesday that he would nominate art collector Nicole McGraw as U.S. ambassador to Croatia.

Trump has selected a variety of loyalists for diplomatic posts. Charles Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, was named ambassador to France, and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, one of his strongest defenders in the House, was named his ambassador to the United Nations.

He picked another Georgian, former Sen. David Perdue, to be U.S. ambassador to China. Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a primary against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022.

Another former senator from Georgia, Kelly Loeffler, was also recruited by Trump for a job. He chose her to head the Small Business Administration.