Kevin Rudd could remain in his prestigious Washington posting for another 18 months after the Albanese government shrugged off negative comments from US President Donald Trump about the ambassador and opposition calls for him to be sacked.

Trump told Rudd that he would never like him during a White House meeting with Anthony Albanese, but the prime minister treated the exchange as a joke and Australia’s US ambassador later privately apologised to Trump for his past criticisms.

“All’s forgiven,” Trump said, according to sources in the room.

Diplomatic sources said that Rudd was on a four-year posting and has the government’s enthusiastic backing, meaning his tenure in the US capital is not scheduled to end until March 2027.

Rudd’s term could be extended further if both he and the government wanted him to remain in the role.

Defence Minister Richard Marles praised Rudd for doing a “fantastic job representing Australia” and said he had played a key role in securing Albanese’s meeting with Trump.

“Our relationship with the United States is in a very good place, and our ambassador to the United States deserves his share of credit for that,” Marles said.

When asked about Rudd by a reporter, Trump appeared not to recognise him before saying: “I don’t like you either, and probably never will.”