Liberal backbencher Andrew Hastie has deviated from Opposition leader Sussan Ley's criticisms of Kevin Rudd, instead adding to the growing number of voices praising the ambassador to the US for "getting the job done".
Ley initially called for Rudd to step down, describing his position as "untenable" on Tuesday, after an awkward exchange with US President Donald Trump over disparaging online comments made before Rudd's appointment.
However, hours later, she watered down her language saying Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should "sack him or back him", later refusing to repeat the calls for Rudd to be sacked.
On Thursday morning, Hastie threw his support behind Rudd, going as far as praising him for copping it "on the chin for the country".
"I think Kevin Rudd got the job done in the end. He got the minerals deal and he had a seat at the table with President Trump and the prime minister," he told 2GB.
Hastie said Rudd had been humiliated by Trump over unwise comments, but in the end, got the deal done.
"This guy (Trump) does really good reality television and trolling the Australian ambassador was good TV," he said.
"But in the end, Kevin Rudd copped it on the chin for the country, and we moved forward."
The Western Australian MP has remained largely quiet since resigning from his frontbench role as Opposition home affairs spokesperson earlier this month, citing he wanted to be more vocal on immigration and climate matters.
The remarks follow backbencher Jane Hume first breaking ranks from Ley on Tuesday, when she acknowledged Rudd's work in securing the critical minerals deal and said calls for him to resign were a "little bit churlish".
Hume and Ley's relationship remains fractured after the former was dumped from the frontbench when Ley took over as leader.
Speaking on ABC Radio National, Senator Bridget McKenzie also praised "the hard work of ambassador Rudd" to land the critical minerals deal, and said she was sure the government was "celebrating all the way home" from the US.
Paterson downplays Coalition language differences
When asked about the friction in language between Ley and Hume, finance spokesperson James Paterson said there was no "substantial" difference.
"The reality is, we’re the Opposition. We have no control over whether Kevin Rudd continues to be the ambassador in the United States," Paterson told Sky News.
"He was a captain’s pick of the prime minister. The prime minister bears responsibility for Kevin Rudd’s success or failure. I think it has clearly been an irritant in the relationship."
Finance spokesperson James Paterson said it was not up to the Opposition to decide who was ambassador to the US. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
"The ambassador and the way that he is viewed in Washington is putting pressure on the most important relationship for Australia," she told reporters on Thursday.
"We don’t need pressure on the relationship now, more work has to be done, and we need that relationship to be close and strong and functioning."
