Donald Trump has tapped former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker as U.S. ambassador to NATO, set to make him the nation’s representative to a bedrock Western alliance that the president-elect has repeatedly relished criticizing.

Whitaker, who has a background in law enforcement, has not been outspoken about his positions on foreign policy.

The choice of Whitaker as the nation's representative to NATO is an unusual one, given his background is in law enforcement and not in foreign policy.