Trump nominates Kay Bailey Hutchison as next NATO ambassador – Politico

Former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas is President Donald Trump's pick to be NATO ambassador. | Alex Wong/Getty Images

By Negassi Tesfamichael

06/29/2017 05:54 PM EDT

Updated 06/29/2017 06:21 PM EDT

President Donald Trump has chosen former Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas to be the next NATO ambassador, the White House announced on Thursday.

Hutchison, 73, served in the Senate for 20 years until she decided not to run in 2012.

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Hutchison's nomination to be the U.S. representative to the military alliance comes amid scrutiny of the organization from Trump. The president demanded in May that NATO member nations meet commitments to spend at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense, saying that failure to do so is unfair to U.S. taxpayers.

Trump had also been slow to announce support for Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which guarantees that all member nations will come to the aid of any member that has been attacked. The president publicly voiced his support weeks after his speech to NATO members in May.

Richard Grenell, a prominent Trump supporter and former United Nations official, was previously reported to be the front-runner for the NATO ambassador job. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, however, was said to prefer Hutchison for the role.

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Trump nominates Kay Bailey Hutchison as next NATO ambassador - Politico