WASHINGTON – 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.
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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.
Here are some things to know about Whitaker:
His tenure as acting attorney general was brief
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.
Whitaker, who was Sessions' chief of staff, served as acting attorney general for a pivotal three-month stretch as Mueller’s investigation was winding down. He got the role despite Trump telling reporters “I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” just two days after naming him to the post.
A close Trump loyalist, Whitaker had railed against the Mueller investigation prior to becoming attorney general. He faced off during a contentious House hearing with Democrats, who feared that he would take steps to impede the Russia inquiry. Whitaker insisted that he had no plans to do that, but nonetheless was scrutinized by lawmakers over a perceived lack of prior experience to serve as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer.
“We’re all trying to figure out: Who are you, where did you come from and how the heck did you become the head of the Department of Justice,” New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, now the top House Democrat, said at one point.
When Whitaker tried to respond, Jeffries interrupted: “Mr. Whitaker, that was a statement, not a question.”
More recently, Whitaker has been a relentless critic of the federal criminal cases against Trump, which appear set to evaporate after his Election Day 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.
He has a legal and law enforcement background
Whitaker is a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of his native Iowa, where he was a high school football star and started at tight end when the University of Iowa Hawkeyes lost the 1991 Rose Bowl. In announcing Whitaker as his choice, Trump noted that he'd once received the Big Ten Medal of Honor.
All of that still makes Whitaker an unknown to many in U.S. security circles. Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, a former supreme allied commander of NATO, called the job of U.S. NATO ambassador “incredibly important” within the U.S. and NATO security framework, given their standing as the direct representative of U.S. presidents in decision-making among the Western military alliance.
“The bottom line is, they are looked to have the credibility of the president when they speak,” Breedlove said.
U.S. NATO ambassadors often have extensive experience in the military or national security. Trump’s first-term NATO ambassador, former Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, did not, although she had been involved in foreign-policy issues in Congress.
Breedlove said a security background wasn’t essential to the post, but being seen as having a direct line to the U.S. 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 was involved in a Florida company fined for bilking customers
Whitaker was part of the advisory board of World Patent Marketing, a Florida company that a federal judge shut down in 2017 and fined almost $26 million after the Federal Trade Commission accused it in a complaint of swindling "thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars.”
Separately, the company drew scrutiny from Democrats for having once promoted the “Masculine Toilet,” billed as a commode built for men with especially long genitals.
Whitaker also repeatedly chided Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in public statements during her 2016 run against Trump while he was speaking for a group that is barred by its tax-exempt status from supporting or opposing political candidates during a campaign.
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Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.