Trump nominates former Texas senator as NATO ambassador

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump says he has nominated Kay Bailey Hutchison, a former Republican senator from Texas, to be the U.S. ambassador to NATO.

Trump has had a rocky relationship with the 28-nation military alliance. As a candidate, he called NATO “obsolete.”

The president has criticized several members of the post-World War II organization for not spending adequately on defense. At a May meeting in Brussels with NATO members, Trump complained that his allies had shortchanged “the people and taxpayers of the United States,” creating additional strains for the organization.

Hutchison, 73, won a runoff special election to fill a vacant Senate seat in 1993 and served three full terms.