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The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam announced that McNamara and her family arrived in Hanoi on Wednesday as she “looks forward to working with our Vietnamese partners to advance U.S. priorities, strengthen the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and expand opportunities for greater prosperity, security, and cooperation between our two countries.”

She was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam and was confirmed by the Senate on May 18, before taking the oath of office in Washington, D.C. on June 15.

Under U.S. procedures, after Senate confirmation, an ambassador travels to the host country and presents credentials to the head of state, formally beginning the diplomatic assignment.

According to a Certificate of Competency for Nominees to be Chiefs of Mission released by the U.S. Department of State on Oct. 29, 2025, McNamara is a career public servant with nearly 31 years of experience in the U.S. government.

She began her government career in the U.S. Army, serving in South Korea before assignments in Hawaii and Virginia.

In 2003, she joined the U.S. Department of State and held a number of positions, including Chief of Staff in the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources, Senior Advisor for Legislative and Public Affairs to the Under Secretary of State for Management, and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Administration.

Since November 2012 she has served as director of the Office of Presidential Appointments at the White House, a role she has held across four presidential administrations. In that position she has guided roughly 1,000 candidates for senior, Senate-confirmed State Department posts, in effect shepherding other nominees through the same process she has now completed herself.

In her opening remarks during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in December 2025, she reaffirmed President Donald Trump’s and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s commitment to viewing Vietnam as one of the United States’ most important partners in the region.

“A strong, independent, and resilient Vietnam is in the United States’ best interests,” she said.