Former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was chosen by President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday as his choice to serve as the next ambassador to NATO, a crucial organization that Trump has often disparaged.
“Matt is a devoted Patriot and a formidable warrior who will make sure that American interests are protected and furthered. Matt will fortify ties with our NATO allies and maintain his resolve when peace and stability are threatened. Trump declared in a statement that he will prioritize America.
In his professional history, Whitaker seems to have little experience with international policy, and the Senate must ratify his appointment.
During Trump’s first term, Whitaker initially assumed an interim position at the Justice Department in November 2018, just after the midterm elections, when Trump said on Twitter that he would replace Jeff Sessions, whom Trump had asked to step down. He only held the job for three months before William Barr was sworn in as attorney general.
Whitaker served as Sessions’ chief of staff while he was attorney general before taking over as interim attorney general. From 2004 until 2009, he served as President George W. Bush’s U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa.
He has served as co-chair of the Center of Law & Justice at the America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit research organization that supports Trump.
Trump has frequently blasted NATO, claiming that European countries don’t pay enough for defense. At a campaign event in February, he expressed his willingness to let Russia do “whatever the hell they want” to nations that don’t pay the “bills.”
During his initial presidential campaign in 2016, Trump referred to NATO as “obsolete.”Trump informed senior European officials in 2020, just before he stepped down, that the United States would not defend Europe in the event of an attack, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this year.
Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, issued a warning in February that if Trump were re-elected, he would try to remove the United States from NATO. Before this year’s election, JD Vance, the vice president-elect, told NBC Newsdays that a second Trump administration would “remain in NATO.” Vance has attacked the United States for helping Ukraine in its battle with Russia.
As president, Trump has often stated that he would negotiate a compromise “that’s good for both sides” regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Whitaker, on the other hand, has indicated in public that he is in favor of Ukraine and the alliance.
Whitaker was questioned in a 2019 Fox News interview how risky it would be if the United States declared that it would only contribute as much to NATO as other nations.
“We are the world’s superpower, and only superpower,” he stated. “I believe that in order to ensure that democracy and freedom are upheld globally, we will always need to spend more than our fair share. However, that does not imply that those with whom we have aligned themselves should, you know, sort of ride on our coattails.
Having a conversation with Fox Business”There is no doubt now that NATO is in the line of fire, and people like Poland are feeling the pressure as they’re supplying the Ukrainian fighters,” Whitaker stated in 2022, following the start of Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
“I’m confident Putin has Poland next on his list. Whitaker expressed support for the United States’ shipment of heavy weaponry into Ukraine, saying, “If the war doesn’t end in Ukraine, it’s already on NATO’s doorstep.”
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