Donald Trump’s chief of staff has “won signoffs” from the US president for the appointment of several Republican party “loyalists” to “coveted posts”, including Georgette Mosbacher as ambassador to the Grand Duchy, according to the New York Post.

The newspaper said on 15 February that the owners of two different American football teams would be nominated as ambassadors to France and the UK, and a hedge fund CEO was tipped as envoy to Madrid.

The Post did not name its sources. The paper is controlled by Rupert Murdoch, who is reportedly close to Trump.

While many American ambassadors are career diplomats, the positions are political appointments that must be confirmed by the US senate.

Mosbacher has headed a New York City-based cosmetics firm called Borghese since 2000, according her website bio. She has been a political activist and fundraiser supporting campaigns for several Republican candidates, but was also named by the Democratic president Barack Obama to the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.

In addition, she has served on the board of the Atlantic Council, a thinktank, has published two books, and is a commentator on Fox News, also controlled by Murdoch.

On Monday, the US embassy in Luxembourg had no immediate comment.

As of this writing, Mosbacher’s office had returned Delano’s message seeking comment, and Mosbacher’s nomination was not listed on the US senate’s website.