Trump picks Pete Hoekstra to be US ambassador to Canada

Donald Trump wants to give former Rep. Pete Hoekstra another turn as a diplomat.

Trump announced Wednesday that Hoekstra, who served as ambassador to the Netherlands during his first administration, is his pick for ambassador to Canada for his second.

“In my Second Term, Pete will once again help me put AMERICA FIRST," Trump said in a statement. “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.”

Hoekstra served as ambassador to the Netherlands from 2018 to 2021 and in Congress from 1993 to 2011. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2010 and for the Senate in 2012. He currently serves as chair of the Michigan GOP.

If confirmed as ambassador to Canada by the Senate, Hoekstra would take the position at a time of strong unity between the two countries after four tumultuous years during Trump’s first term, when he scrapped the North American Free Trade Agreement, imposed tariffs on Canadian aluminum and had a rocky relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Kelly Craft, who served as the top U.S. envoy in Canada under Trump between 2017 and 2019, said during an appearance at a policy forum last month that a future Trump administration would expect Ottawa to meet its NATO military spending commitment more quickly than under the timeline set by Trudeau’s government.