Trump picks Iowa native Matt Whitaker as NATO ambassador

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump says he has chosen former acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker — an Ankeny native who once was a federal prosecutor in Iowa and an Iowa Hawkeyes football player — to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO, the Western alliance that the president-elect has expressed skepticism about for years.

Trump, in a statement, said Whitaker was “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.”

The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given that 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 Matt Gaetz, a fierce loyalist who has been seen as divisive even within his own party.

The NATO post is a particularly sensitive one given Trump’s regard of the alliance’s value and his complaints that numerous members are not meeting their commitments to spend at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense.

Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst welcomed the nomination of her “dear friend and fellow Iowan.”

I look forward to your work to support our partners, deter our adversaries, and restore President Trump's peace through strength!“ she said in a statement.

Whitaker was a U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Iowa, serving for five years beginning in 2004. He has owned a day care center, a concrete supply business and a trailer manufacturer, records show. He led a taxpayer-subsidized effort to build affordable housing in Des Moines, but later walked away from the stalled project.

Whitaker served as acting U.S. attorney general between November 2018 and February 2019, as special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference was drawing to a close.

Before then, he was chief of staff to Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, before being picked to replace his boss after Sessions was fired amid lingering outrage over his decision to withdraw from the Russia investigation. Whitaker held the position for several months, on an acting basis and without U.S. 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’s election win. Whitaker has used regular appearances on Fox News to join other Republicans in decrying what they contend is the politicization of the Justice Department over the past four years.

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 is “incredibly important” within the U.S. and NATO security framework, as the direct representative of U.S. presidents in decision-making.

“The bottom line is they are looked to have the credibility of the president when they speak,” Breedlove said.

Previous ambassadors to NATO generally have had years of diplomatic, political or military experience. Trump’s first-term NATO ambassador, former U.S. 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.

“They need to be seen as actually representing what the president intends. To have the trust and confidence of the president, that’s what’s 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 come to the defense of only countries that meet the alliance’s defense spending targets.

Trump, as president, eventually endorsed NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause, which states that an armed attack against one or more of its members shall be considered an attack against all members. But he often depicted NATO allies as leeches on the U.S. military and openly questioned the value of the military alliance that has defined American foreign policy for decades.

Earlier this year, Trump said that, when he was president, he warned NATO allies that he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to countries that are “delinquent.”

“‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” Trump recounted saying at a February rally. “‘No 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.’”

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary-general at the time, said in response that “any 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.”

NATO reported earlier this year that, in 2023, 11 member countries met the benchmark of spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense and that number had increased to 18 in early 2024 — up from just three in 2014. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has spurred additional military spending by some NATO members.

Trump often has tried to take credit for that increase, and bragged that, as a results of his threats, “hundreds of billions of dollars came into NATO,” even though countries do not pay NATO directly.

Whitaker, Trump noted in his announcement, is a former Iowa football player. In 1990, Whitaker was a tight end on the Hawkeye team that went to the Rose Bowl. He earned an MBA and a law degree from the University of Iowa.

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’ 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 “not aware of any fraudulent activity.”

The Washington Post contributed to this report.