Trump Names N.Y. Jets Owner Woody Johnson as Ambassador to U.K.

A transition official confirmed on Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump will nominate New York Jets owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson IV as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. Johnson is a long-time Republican donor who served as a finance chair for Jeb Bush’s GOP primary campaign before formally endorsing Trump in May, following the former Florida governor’s exit from the race. He has been chairman and chief executive of Johnson Company Inc.—a private investment firm founded in the late-’70s—and purchased the Jets for $635 million in 2000. His appointment to top diplomat to the U.K. comes just as the National Football League has made a concerted effort to ramp up its influence with a British audience. Just last month, the league announced it would begin playing 4 regular-season games in London next season, having played 3 there the past few seasons.