President Trump has nominated retired Army colonel and Fox News regular Douglas Macgregor to lead the U.S. diplomatic mission in Germany, a role that opened with the departure of Richard Grenell.
“Colonel Douglas Macgregor is a decorated combat veteran, author, and a consultant,” the White House said in a Monday news release. “Colonel Macgregor is widely recognized as an expert on force design and grand strategy.”
“He is a frequent radio and television commentator on national security affairs and his writings on military affairs have been influential in the transformation of United States ground forces, NATO, and the Israeli Defense Force,” the White House added.
The nomination comes after Trump controversially said last month that the United States plans to pull some troops out of Germany. The president claimed the country has been “delinquent” on NATO’s defense spending target.
Macgregor had previously been considered for the position of undersecretary of defense for policy, but Anthony Tata was nominated instead. When contacted by Politico, Macgregor said that while he looks forward to his confirmation hearing, the White House has asked him not to speak to the press in the meantime.
