Matthew Whitaker
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Matthew George Whitaker (born October 29, 1969) is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat serving as the 26th United States ambassador to NATO since 2025 in the second administration of President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in Trump's first administration as acting United States attorney general from November 2018 to February 2019, following the resignation of Jeff Sessions. Whitaker had previously served as Chief of Staff for Sessions from October 2017 to November 2018. While attending the University of Iowa, Whitaker played tight end for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team, including in the 1991 Rose Bowl. In 2002, Whitaker was the Republican nominee for Treasurer of Iowa, losing to incumbent Michael Fitzgerald. From 2004 to 2009, he served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, where he was known for aggressively prosecuting drug traffickers. Whitaker ran in the 2014 Iowa Republican primary for the United States Senate. He later wrote opinion pieces and appeared on talk-radio shows and cable news as the executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a conservative advocacy group. On February 15, 2019, after William Barr was sworn in as Attorney General, Whitaker became a senior counselor in the Office of the Associate Attorney General; he resigned from the Justice Department on March 2, 2019. After leaving the Justice Department, Whitaker became a guest on news and analysis shows including as a CNN contributor, and was affiliated with the law firm of Graves Garrett. In August 2019, he became a managing director at Axiom Strategies and Clout Public Affairs. On November 20, 2024, Whitaker was announced by Donald Trump as the nominee to serve as the United States ambassador to NATO in the second Trump administration. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 1, 2025, by a vote of 52–45, and was sworn in two days later.