April 2 (UPI) -- Matthew Whitaker was confirmed by the Senate to his role as U.S. ambassador to NATO.
Whitaker, 55, who served briefly as acting U.S. attorney general during President Donald Trump's first term, was confirmed Tuesday night in a 52-45 vote to be America's representative to the 32-member state North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the intergovernmental transnational military alliance founded in 1949.
His Senate vote had been briefly delayed by a few hours by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who shattered the body's record for the longest floor speech in protest of Trump administration and GOP policy.
Whitaker took over as attorney general in November 2018 after then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned under pressure from Trump and was head of DOJ until February 2019.
With little known experience in national security, Whitaker said last month in his confirmation hearing that he would work to urge other allied nations to boost defense spending, but added the administration's commitment to NATO was "ironclad."
However, the president said he would reconsider American participation in NATO, saying if member states "don't pay I'm not going to defend them."
Whitaker said if confirmed, "when I get over there, I look forward to the conversation with all of the members on this committee about whether or not our NATO allies are really committed to the alliance."
