Washington - United States President Trump on Tuesday nominated Washington-based attorney Christopher Landau to be the next U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

A Conservative, Landau is a partner at the law firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and previously worked as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

If confirmed by the Senate, he would fill a position that has been empty since Roberta Jacobson resigned in May 2018.

U.S.-Mexico relations have been strained recently by Trump's criticism of immigrants passing through Mexico to enter the U.S. illegally, as well as his efforts to build a wall along the border between the two countries.

Mexico and the U.S. are also ironing out ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Landau is fluent in Spanish and received a certificate in Latin American Studies as an undergrad at Harvard University, according to the White House.

His father, George Landau, served as U.S. ambassador to Paraguay, Chile and Venezuela.