Trump Picks Matthew Whitaker to Be His Ambassador to NATO
President-elect Donald J. Trump has picked Matthew G. Whitaker, who briefly served as acting attorney general in the first Trump administration, to serve as ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the next one.
Mr. Whitaker, 55, served for about three months as the nation’s top law enforcement official after Jeff Sessions stepped down, and before William P. Barr was confirmed to succeed him. His short tenure at the helm of the Justice Department was marked by internal tensions and distrust as senior officials vied for the attention and favor of a president consumed by a special counsel investigation into his campaign.
Mr. Whitaker does not bring foreign policy experience to a job that may serve as a focal point for Mr. Trump’s complaints about how much the United States pays to help NATO keep Europe secure. But Mr. Whitaker, known for his personal loyalty and willingness to defend Mr. Trump during his first administration, is likely to bring a similar approach to his ambassadorship.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly voiced skepticism about the alliance, and he has long threatened to withdraw from it. At one point on the campaign trail, he said he would encourage Russia to do what it wished against allies that weren’t meeting NATO’s targets for defense military spending. The president-elect has also promised to quickly negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, which could require Ukraine to make major concessions to Moscow. NATO countries have spent billions of dollars of aid shoring up Ukraine’s military.