Earlier this week Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi was selected by President Trump as the U.S. ambassador of Tunisia.

Bazzi, who has been in office since 2021, posted a statement to Facebook on Tuesday saying that he's honored and that he appreciates Mr. Trump's decision.

"I could not believe it; he's happy here. I know he's happy here. But who wouldn't refuse a promotion like that? That's a great job and I think he's doing a great thing accepting it," said Lemar Murphy Jr., who has lived in Dearborn Heights for 30 years.

Barring a majority vote by the U.S. Senate, Bazzi will be the next ambassador to Tunisia. This is a huge promotion, but city council members like Hassan Saab say Bazzi's recent absence from meetings has made it seem like he's had one foot out the door waiting for this position. 

"It came out during the council meeting. We were in the council meeting when we found out that he was appointed; the mayor has been vacant for about six months in council meetings, so it wasn't a surprise," Saab said.

Bazzi endorsed Mr. Trump and even spoke at a rally held in Novi during a campaign visit in October of 2024. 

"When President Trump was president, there was peace, we didn't have any issues," Bazzi said at the rally.

Saab says Bazzi's absence is only one factor that has made working with the mayor frustrating over the past year. 

"We lost almost 27 or 29 officers for the reason that he wanted to bring in his friends and his associates," he said. "The mayor just brings in positions that we don't know how they're getting funded, we don't know where the money is coming from. The city is in a $1.7 million shortfall they just requested."

If confirmed, Dearborn Heights will be holding mayoral elections later this year. 

"I'm hoping they have somebody comes in that's going to continue growing the City and keep contractors like me working," said Darryl Smith, who works in Dearborn Heights.

Bazzi was the second mayor in Metro Detroit to be selected this year to serve as a U.S. diplomat. Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib was selected as the U.S. ambassador of Kuwait.