South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a former deputy finance minister as a special envoy to the United States after the ambassador was expelled last month.

The South African ambassador who was expelled from the United States and declared persona non grata by the Trump administration has been welcomed home at an airport by hundreds of supporters who sang songs praising him.

The State Department says South Africa’s ambassador to the United States has until Friday to leave the country.

The Trump administration’s decision to expel the South African ambassador is its latest move against a country it has singled out for sanctions and accused of being anti-white and anti-American.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says South Africa’s ambassador to the United States “is no longer welcome” in the United States.