The co-manager for Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign has called Lord Mandelson an “absolute moron” – as the peer was officially announced as the next UK ambassador to the US.

The Labour grandee, who served in Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s cabinets, will become the UK’s top diplomat in Washington as president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.

In a post on X, Chris LaCivita linked to an article in The Daily Telegraph which reported on Lord Mandelson describing Mr Trump as “a danger to the world”.

The peer also described Mr Trump as “little short of a white nationalist and racist” during an interview with an Italian journalist in 2019, according to the newspaper.

In the post on X, Mr LaCivita said: “This UK govt is special replace a professional universally respected Ambo with an absolute moron – he should stay home! SAD!”

He added: “Mandelson described Trump as a danger to the world and ‘little short of a white nationalist’.”

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the appointment of Lord Mandelson to the post.

The 71-year-old said: “We face challenges in Britain but also big opportunities and it will be a privilege to work with the government to land those opportunities, both for our economy and our nation’s security, and to advance our historic alliance with the United States.”

The prime minister said: “The United States is one of our most important allies and as we move into a new chapter in our friendship, Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength.”

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Sir Keir also thanked outgoing US ambassador Dame Karen Pierce, who will leave the post at the beginning of next year.

“I would also like to thank Dame Karen Pierce for her invaluable service for the last four years, and in particular the wisdom and steadfast support she has given me personally since July,” he said.

“She made history as the first woman to serve as UK ambassador to the US and she has been an outstanding representative of our country abroad. I wish her all the very best in future.”

Lord Mandelson was one of the key architects of New Labour and helped the party return to power in the 1990s.

He served as Sir Tony’s trade secretary and Northern Ireland secretary before standing down as an MP in 2004 to become a European Commissioner.

After Mr Brown awarded him a peerage in 2008 Lord Mandelson returned to government as business secretary.

The US says it has killed Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Yusif in Syria.

US Central Command Forces (Centcom) said it carried out an airstrike targeting Yusif – who also goes by Mahmud – in the east of the country.

Another IS operative was also killed in the strike, according to US officials.

This strike was conducted in an area formerly controlled by the Syrian regime and Russian forces.

Centcom commander, general Michael Erik Kurilla, said: “As stated before, the United States – working with allies and partners in the region – will not allow ISIS to take advantage of the current situation in Syria and reconstitute.

“IS has the intent to break out of detention the over 8,000 ISIS operatives currently being held in facilities in Syria.

“We will aggressively target these leaders and operatives, including those trying to conduct operations external to Syria.”

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US politicians have rejected a spending bill endorsed by president-elect Donald Trump – leaving Congress with no clear plan to avert a fast-approaching government shutdown.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump dismissed a bipartisan compromise, which Republicans and Democrats had reached to prevent a shutdown just days before the Christmas winter break.

Instead, he urged Republicans in the House of Representatives to back a new deal which included a three-month extension of government funding and a two-year suspension of the debt limit into January 2027. The debt ceiling caps the amount the federal government can borrow.

Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader and top Democrat in the chamber, called the revamped Republican proposal “laughable” – and the bill was rejected on Thursday night by a 175-235 vote, with all but two Democrats and 38 Republicans voting against it.

Several Republicans had said they were not interested in getting rid of the debt ceiling if they did not also cut spending.

“It’s like… increasing your credit card limit, while you don’t do anything to actually constrain spending,” said Republican Representative Chip Roy.

The outcome is a massive setback for Mr Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who has been tasked by the incoming president with pruning the federal budget.

Musk, a tech entrepreneur and the world’s richest person, led the charge earlier in the week against the bipartisan funding deal in dozens of posts on his social media platform X, describing it as “criminal”. His opposition led support for the package to quickly crumble.

Congress now has until midnight on Friday to approve a spending bill that would avert a government shutdown.

“We’re going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the vote.

But Mr Trump remained defiant, insisting Congress scrap the debt ceiling, or extend it to 2029.

“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous debt ceiling. Without this, we should never make a deal,” he said in a post on Truth Social on Friday morning.

He has repeatedly urged Republicans in the House to tie up loose ends before he takes office on 20 January.

It leaves the government in limbo with just hours to thrash out a new bill to put to a vote.

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What a government shutdown means

If the House fails to approve a spending bill or extend the deadline a government shutdown will begin impacting federal employees and the public services they provide.

Essential government agencies like the FBI, Border Patrol and the Coast Guard would remain open.

But the Transportation Security Administration has warned travellers could face long lines at airports.

National parks and monuments would close, and while troops would stay at their posts, many civilian employees in agencies like the Department of Defence would be sent home.

Sometimes federal workers are furloughed, meaning they keep their jobs but temporarily don’t work until the government reopens.

Other federal staff may stay on the job but without pay, with the expectation they would be paid back in full once the government reopens.

Courts would also be affected, with civil proceedings paused, while criminal prosecutions continue.

Automated tax collection would stay on track, but the Internal Revenue Service would stop auditing tax returns.

The last government shutdown – the longest in history – took place in December 2018 and January 2019 during Mr Trump’s first term in The White House.