British Prime Minister Theresa May's office refused a suggestion by President-elect Donald Trump that it should appoint Nigel Farage, the Brexit movement figurehead, to be its U.S. ambassador, according to CNN.
Trump Monday night tweeted:
A spokesman for May's office told CNN, "There is no vacancy. We already have an excellent ambassador to the U.S."
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson agreed, telling CNN, "We have a first-rate ambassador in Washington doing a very good job of relating both with the administration to be, and there is no vacancy for that position."
Kim Darroch has held the ambassador job since January. He is a diplomat with three decades of experience, CNN reported.
Farage backed Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, also known as Brexit. He is leader of the UK's Independence Party, a right-wing rival to Prime Minister May's Conservative Party, according to The New York Times.
Trump and Farage have supported each other. Trump has praised Brexit and Farage flew to Trump Tower in New York City after the president-elect's win to meet with him.
"This is a man with whom we can do business," Farage said.
The Times notes diplomat Carl Bildt said Trump stepped out of bounds with his call to make Farage the ambassador. "No business of his," said Bildt, a former foreign minister of Sweden.