Trump Appoints Fmr Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker As NATO Ambassador

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OAN Staff James Meyers
11:54 AM – Wednesday, November 20, 2024

On Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump picked former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to become U.S. ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in his new administration. 

Trump described Whitaker as “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot, who will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended.”

“Matt will strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability – He will put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement. “I have full confidence in Matt’s ability to represent the United States with Strength, Integrity, and unwavering Dedication. I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to promote PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, Freedom, and Prosperity around the World.”

“Matt is also the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, and is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a B.A., MBA and J.D., where he played football, and received the Big Ten Medal of Honor,” Trump added. 

The appointment on Wednesday comes at a significant point in time for the Trump team. 

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally lowered the threshold for Russia’s use of its nuclear weapons, which follows President Joe Biden’s decision to authorize Ukraine to use U.S.-made missiles to strike Russian territory.

The new doctrine will prompt Moscow to initiate a nuclear response, even to a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power. 

According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, Ukraine fired six U.S.-made ATACMS missiles on Tuesday at a military facility in Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine. They noted that air defenses shot down five of them and damaged one more.

Ukraine also claimed that the strike hit a Russian ammunition depot. 

Putin first announced changes in the nuclear doctrine in September, when he chaired a meeting discussing the proposed revisions. He has previously warned the U.S. and other NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied long-range weapons to hit Russian territory would mean that Russia and NATO, in addition to whatever country supplied the long-range missiles, are at war. 

Whitaker served as acting attorney general from November 2018 to February 2019. 

That followed Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ resignation, at Trump’s request, amid Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian collusion by the Trump campaign. The probe ended with the DOJ admitting that they found no collusion between Russia and the 2016 GOP campaign.

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