WASHINGTON (WHTC-AM/FM) – Pete Hoekstra is apparently going to be rewarded for his support of Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Campaign after all.
The former Congressman from Holland, who had backed John Kasich in Michigan’s Presidential Primary before becoming one of Mr. Trump’s state campaign co-chairmen for the General Election, was nominated on Monday evening by the President to be the next US Ambassador to the Netherlands. There was some initial speculation following the election that Hoekstra may have been in line for heading the Central Intelligence Agency, but he was bypassed in favor of Mike Pompeo.
Fellow Republican Congressman Fred Upton of St. Joseph said that he, along with Bill Huizenga, who succeeded Hoekstra in the US House, were among nine members of the Michigan Congressional Delegation who signed a letter late in 2016 asking the Trump Transition Team to nominate Hoekstra for the Dutch ambassadorship.
A Dutch native who emigrated to the US with his family at the age of three, the 63-year-old Hoekstra had been an executive with Zeeland-based furniture maker Herman Miller, Inc. before beginning his political career by upsetting long-time Congressman Guy VanderJagt in the 1992 GOP primary and taking his seat in the House.
Over the next 16 years, Hoekstra rose to the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee before stepping down in 2010 for unsuccessful bids for Michigan Governor in 2010 and the US Senate two years later.
Currently an author and consultant, Hoekstra’s nomination is pending approval by the US Senate. When contacted by WHTC News following this announcement by the White House, Hoekstra said that he couldn’t make any public comment until after the nomination process has concluded.
