WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� said Wednesday that he has chosen former acting Attorney General to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO, the bedrock Western alliance that the president-elect has expressed skepticism about for years.
Trump, in a statement, said Whitaker was 鈥渁 strong warrior and loyal Patriot" who "will ensure the United States鈥� interests are advanced and defended鈥� and 鈥渟trengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.鈥�
The choice of Whitaker as the nation鈥檚 representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is in law enforcement and not in foreign policy. Whitaker had been considered a potential pick for attorney general, a position Trump instead gave to , a seen as divisive even within his own party.
The NATO post is a particularly sensitive one given Trump鈥檚 regard for the alliance鈥檚 value and his complaints that numerous members are not meeting their commitments to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense.
Later Wednesday, Trump announced that he'd chosen former Republican Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, who served as ambassador to the Netherlands during his first term, as his upcoming administration's ambassador to Canada.
鈥淧ete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,鈥� the president-elect said in a statement.
Whitaker, meanwhile, is a former U.S. attorney in Iowa and served as acting attorney general between November 2018 and February 2019 as into Russian election interference was drawing to a close.
He had been chief of staff to Trump鈥檚 first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, before being picked to replace his boss after amid lingering outrage over his decision to recuse from the Russia investigation. Whitaker held the position for several months, on an acting basis and without Senate confirmation, until William Barr was confirmed as attorney general in February 2019.
Whitaker has been a relentless critic of the federal criminal cases against Trump, which appear set to evaporate after Trump鈥檚 election win. Whitaker has used regular appearances on Fox 撸奶社区 to join other Republicans in decrying what they contend is the politicization of the Justice Department over the past four years.
鈥淢att Whitaker obviously has strong political views, but he followed the rules when I served with him during his three-month tenure as acting Attorney General,鈥� Rod Rosenstein, who was deputy attorney general during Whitaker's tenure, wrote in an email Wednesday. 鈥淢any critics fail to give him credit for that. Matt didn鈥檛 drop cases against political allies, and he didn鈥檛 pursue unwarranted investigations of political opponents.鈥�
Whitaker has little evident foreign policy or national security experience, making him an unknown to many in U.S. security circles.
Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, a former supreme allied commander of NATO, said the ambassador's position was 鈥渋ncredibly important鈥� within the U.S. and NATO security framework, as the direct representative of U.S. presidents in decision-making within the alliance.
鈥淭he bottom line is they are looked to have the credibility of the president when they speak,鈥� Breedlove said.
Previous ambassadors to NATO have generally had years of diplomatic, political or military experience. Trump鈥檚 first-term NATO ambassador, former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, did not, although she had been involved in foreign policy issues while in Congress. Breedlove said a security background was not essential to the post, but being seen as having a direct line to the president was.
鈥淭hey need to be seen as actually representing what the president intends. To have the trust and confidence of the president, that鈥檚 what鈥檚 most important in that position," he said.
During his 2016 campaign, Trump alarmed Western allies by warning that the United States, under his leadership, might abandon its NATO treaty commitments and only come to the defense of countries that meet the transatlantic alliance鈥檚 defense spending targets.
Trump, as president, eventually endorsed NATO鈥檚 Article 5 mutual defense clause, which states that shall be considered an attack against all members. But he often depicted NATO allies as leeches on the U.S. military and of the military alliance that has defined American foreign policy for decades.
In the years since, he has continued to threaten not to defend NATO members that fail to meet spending goals.
, Trump said that, when he was president, he warned that he 鈥渨ould encourage鈥� Russia 鈥渢o do whatever the hell they want鈥� to countries that are 鈥渄elinquent."
鈥溾�榊ou didn鈥檛 pay? You鈥檙e delinquent?鈥欌�� Trump recounted saying . 鈥溾�楴o I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.鈥欌��
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO鈥檚 secretary-general at the time, said in response that 鈥渁ny suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the U.S., and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk.鈥�
earlier this year that, in 2023, 11 member countries met the benchmark of spending 2% of their GDP on defense and that that number had increased to 18 in early 2024 鈥� up from just three in 2014. Russia鈥檚 2022 invasion of Ukraine has spurred additional military spending by some NATO members.
Trump has often tried to take credit for that increase, and bragged that, as a result of his threats, 鈥渉undreds of billions of dollars came into NATO,鈥� even though countries do not pay NATO directly.
Whitaker, Trump noted in his announcement, is a former Iowa football player.
Whitaker has faced questions about his past business dealings, including his ties to an invention-promotion company that was accused of misleading consumers.
The Wall Street Journal in 2018 published an email revealing an FBI investigation into the company, World Patent Marketing Inc. The July 10, 2017, email was from an FBI victims鈥� specialist to someone who, the newspaper said, was an alleged victim of the company. A Justice Department spokeswoman told the newspaper at the time that Whitaker was 鈥渘ot aware of any fraudulent activity.鈥�
Those selected for the NATO job in recent years have included retired Gen. Douglas Lute, the current U.S. ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, former acting deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and diplomacy academics who previously served on the National Security Council such as Ivo Daalder and Kurt Volker.
___
Colvin reported from New York. AP Diplomat Writer Matthew Lee and Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report.
Jill Colvin And Eric Tucker, The Associated Press
