Former US Senator Scott Brown, who supports torture and once posed nude for Cosmopolitan, has been tipped as the next US Ambassador to New Zealand.
Neither Mr Brown nor The White House have commented on the rumour, reported by newspaper The Boston Globe.
Mr Brown, a Republican, was Senator for Massachusetts from 2010 until 2013. Before entering politics, he was a soldier, rising to the rank of colonel.
Before that he was a model, and won Cosmopolitan's America's Sexiest Man competition in 1982. The prize was US$1000, which Mr Brown says helped him pay for law school - and he's never regretted it.
"I think if someone is qualified, regardless of what they did in their youth - we all make mistakes," he said in 2010, after announcing he was running for the Senate.
"If I hadn't done that, I never would have been sitting here with you. It's all connected. So is there a double standard? I hope not. If someone is qualified to do the job, they should be able to do it, regardless of what they've done in their past."
The magazine didn't back his candidacy, Cosmopolitan saying when it came to politics they prefer brain over brawns, and endorsed his opponent.
"His policy positions just aren't as solid as his abs were in the '80s," the editors wrote.
One of those policy positions likely to cause friction is his support of waterboarding, which the United Nations considers a form of torture.
Mr Brown insisted in 2010 he doesn't support torture, and didn't consider waterboarding a form of torture.
Waterboarding involves pouring water onto a captive's face, simulating drowning, and was used by the US against members of al-Qaeda following the September 11 attacks.
President Barack Obama banned its use by US forces after his inauguration in January 2009, but Donald Trump has promised to bring it back.
Mr Brown has expressed a desire to come to New Zealand, telling GQ in 2015 he "always wanted to go to New Zealand or Scotland or Wales and just ride 100 miles, hit a pub, drink, eat, sleep, do some exploring, and then get up, ride another 100 miles, do that for a couple weeks".
It could be months before he's confirmed, and The Boston Globe's sources said it was not yet a done deal.
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