Penny Wong 'honoured' to attend Trump's inauguration

Penny Wong will attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in a show of the "steadfast alliance" between Australia and the US, becoming the first Australian foreign minister in recent memory to receive an invitation.

Senator Wong has been invited to the ceremony in Washington on January 20, where she will meet members of the Trump administration and Congress during her visit.

Australia's ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has also been invited.

The former Labor prime minister has spent the past 12 months meeting people in Mr Trump's circle, as well as building relationships with members of the Republican Party and senior congressional members.

The government is in talks to try to lock in a Quad foreign ministers' meeting alongside the inauguration amid reports Senator Wong's Japanese counterpart has also been invited.

The foreign minister said she was "honoured" and the invitation to the former president's inauguration was a demonstration of the "steadfast alliance".

"The United States is Australia's vital ally, closest global partner, and most important strategic relationship," she said.

"This early visit will be an important opportunity to discuss how we can advance the benefits of our strong economic and security partnership and expand our co-operation."

Dr Rudd has previously declared he is ready to work with Mr Trump after having made a number of criticisms of the president-elect before his ambassadorial appointment.

These included branding Mr Trump a "traitor".

Mr Trump in 2024 called Mr Rudd "a little bit nasty" and "not the brightest bulb".

Anthony Albanese spoke with Mr Trump following his election victory.

The prime minister has said he is confident the president-elect can be convinced against imposing tariffs on the nation's exports due to the trade surplus the US has with Australia.

Concerns have been raised over Mr Trump's position on the AUKUS partnership, which was struck by the Biden administration.

But leading US congressmen have rushed to declare bipartisan support for the agreement, under which Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines.