Matthew Whitaker took office as US Permanent Representative to NATO in April 2025 as the US began reviewing its troop deployment in Europe. He has since sought to reassure European allies over the prospect of a US military pullback.
“There is no doubt that we find ourselves in a dangerous security situation,” Whitaker said. He has said the US remains committed to NATO and to the “iron commitment” of Article 5.
The reassurances come after Donald Trump warned in February that he would not guarantee protection for NATO members that did not devote sufficient budget to their own defence. At the The Hague summit, every NATO ally committed to a five-percent defence spending standard.
Article 5 has been activated once, after the US was attacked on 11 September 2001. NATO allies backed the US after those attacks, with many fighting alongside American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Whitaker has highlighted the United States, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Poland as countries with strong defence capabilities and a clear commitment to the Den Haag defence promise. Defence spending was 139 billion dollars higher in the first year than in the previous year. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is expected to reach five percent defence spending by 2029.
Trump announced on Wednesday in November 2024 that he was naming Whitaker as ambassador to NATO. The president called him “Matt”, describing him as “a strong warrior and a loyal patriot”. Trump said Whitaker would “ensure that the interests of the United States are promoted and defended”.
Whitaker was born on 29 October 1969 in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. He served as Acting Attorney General during Trump’s first term, from November 2018 to February 2019. Democrats accused Whitaker of being under the command of the Republican billionaire during that period.
Mark Rutte, NATO’s Secretary General, congratulated Trump after his election. “His leadership will again be a key element in keeping our Alliance strong. I look forward to working with him again to promote peace through strengthening NATO,” Rutte said.
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