Trump picks for­mer con­gress­man Pete Hoek­stra to be ambas­sador to Cana­da

Pres­i­dent-elect Trump chose for­mer ambas­sador and Rep. Pete Hoek­stra for his pick for the U.S. ambas­sador to Cana­da.

“Pete is well-respect­ed in the Great State of Michi­gan — A State we won siz­ably. He rep­re­sent­ed Michigan’s 2nd Dis­trict in Con­gress for near­ly 20 years, where he was also Chair­man of the House Intel­li­gence Com­mit­tee, and was a great help to our Cam­paign as Chair­man of the Michi­gan Repub­li­can Par­ty,” Trump wrote in a Wednes­day evening release.

Trump said that Hoek­stra would help the pres­i­dent-elec­t’s “Amer­i­can First” agen­da.

“In my Sec­ond Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” he wrote. “He did an out­stand­ing job as Unit­ed States Ambas­sador to the Nether­lands dur­ing our first four years, and I am con­fi­dent that he will con­tin­ue to rep­re­sent our Coun­try well in this new role. Thank you, Pete!”

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Hoek­stra was the U.S. ambas­sador to the Nether­lands dur­ing Trump’s first term. 

Pri­or to his ambas­sador­ship, he served 18 years in the U.S. House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives, rep­re­sent­ing the 2nd Dis­trict of Michi­gan, and served as chair­man and rank­ing mem­ber of the House Intel­li­gence Com­mit­tee. 

Trump’s pick of Hoek­stra on Wednes­day came after he tapped for­mer Act­ing Attor­ney Gen­er­al Matthew Whitak­er to become U.S. ambas­sador to the North Atlantic Treaty Orga­ni­za­tion (NATO) in his new admin­is­tra­tion.