Former U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker speaks during a rally for former President Donald Trump on Aug. 9 in Bozeman, Mt.
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Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump picked Matthew Whitaker to serve as his attorney general, tapping a veteran of his first administration to fill a key post and potentially help rein in the independence of the Justice Department.
Trump has been a fierce critic of the Justice Department and the FBI, and views himself as a victim of what he calls a “weaponized” justice system. That has made his decision on who to lead the DOJ a top priority as he returns to the White House following his election win.
Whitaker worked at the Justice Department during Trump’s first term in office, initially as chief of staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and then briefly as acting attorney general after Sessions was pushed out in 2018.
He also served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa during the George W. Bush administration. Whitaker, 55, has deep roots in Iowa; he grew up there and played football at the University of Iowa.
During Trump’s first administration, Whitaker was critical of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.
Speaking to Fox and Friends last week, Whitaker said Trump’s “going to want someone that he knows, likes and trusts” for attorney general.
“He’s going to want someone that’s been there from the beginning, that’s been unwavering in their ability to defend, really, Donald Trump from all this lawfare nonsense,” he added.
The incoming attorney general, Whitaker said, “is going to have to go into the Justice Department and fix a lot of things that are broken currently, and change the culture where it serves the American people and goes back to the basic blocking and tackling that it’s known for: national security, law and order, rule of law, all of the principles that the Justice Department has gotten so far away from.”
