What to know about Matthew Whitaker, Trump's pick to be America's ambassador to NATO

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has tapped former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker as U.S. ambassador to NATO — set to make him the nation’s representative to a bedrock Western alliance that the president-elect has repeatedly relished criticizing.

Whitaker has a legal and criminal justice background, rather than one focused on foreign policy and national security, yet is poised to take over an important position for U.S. global affairs.

That’s especially true amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, and Trump’s claim earlier this year that, during his first administration, he warned North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies that he “would encourage” Russia “ to do whatever the hell they want ” to countries that are “delinquent.” That was part of Trump’s continued vocal attacks on foreign aid and long-standing international alliances.

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Whitaker was elevated to acting attorney general in November 2018 — shortly after Republican losses in that year’s midterm elections — when Trump ousted then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Trump never forgave Sessions for recusing himself during Special Counsel Robert Muller’s investigation into ties between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-matthew-whitaker-nato-ambassador-foreign-policy-173c814ab755ee39d58e7023ff8242a5