Pete Hoekstra
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Cornelis Piet Hoekstra (; born October 30, 1953) is a Dutch-American politician who is serving as Ambassador to Canada. Hoekstra had served as the
United States Ambassador to the Netherlands The United States diplomatic mission to the Netherlands consists of the embassy located in The Hague and a consular office located in Amsterdam. In 1782, John Adams was appointed America's first Minister Plenipotentiary to Holland. According t ...
from January 10, 2018, to January 17, 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 2nd congressional district from 1993 to 2011. Born in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, Hoekstra emigrated to the United States as a child. In 1992, Hoekstra ran for the U.S. House, defeating thirteen-term incumbent
Guy Vander Jagt Guy Adrian Vander Jagt ( ; August 26, 1931 – June 22, 2007) was a Republican politician from Michigan. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Vander Jagt was desc ...
in the Republican primary and Democratic opponent John H. Miltner in the general election. Hoekstra was the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee from 2004 to 2007. He was a candidate for governor in Michigan's 2010 gubernatorial election, but came in second to
Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. Snyder, who was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, ...
in the Republican primary. Hoekstra was also the Republican nominee for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
in 2012, losing to Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow in the
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
. In July 2017, Hoekstra was nominated to be
United States ambassador to the Netherlands The United States diplomatic mission to the Netherlands consists of the embassy located in The Hague and a consular office located in Amsterdam. In 1782, John Adams was appointed America's first Minister Plenipotentiary to Holland. According t ...
by President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. This nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 9, 2017, and Hoekstra was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador on December 11, 2017. He took office on January 10, 2018. During his tenure, he gained notability for making anti-Muslim comments. He left office on January 17, 2021. On January 20, 2024, Hoekstra was elected chair of the Michigan Republican Party. He is listed as a "contributor" to Project 2025. On November 20, 2024, Hoekstra was nominated to be the
United States ambassador to Canada This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Canada.U.S. ...
by President-elect Trump.


Early life and education

Hoekstra was born Cornelis Piet Hoekstra in
Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
, Netherlands. He moved to the U.S. with his parents at the age of three, and Anglicized his name to Peter Hoekstra. He graduated from Holland Christian High School (Holland, Michigan) in 1971. He received a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
from Hope College in 1975 and an
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
from the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
's
Ross School of Business The University of Michigan Ross School of Business (branded as Michigan Ross) is the business school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school was originally established ...
in 1977. He then joined office furniture maker Herman Miller and remained there for 15 years, eventually becoming vice president of marketing.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections

In 1992, Hoekstra made his first bid for public office in the 2nd District. The district, previously the 9th, had been represented for 26 years by
Guy Vander Jagt Guy Adrian Vander Jagt ( ; August 26, 1931 – June 22, 2007) was a Republican politician from Michigan. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Vander Jagt was desc ...
, longtime chairman of the
National Republican Congressional Committee The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the United States Republican Party, Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives. The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Repub ...
. Hoekstra rode his
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...
across the district, charging that Vander Jagt had served in Congress for too long; Vander Jagt had won his first election in 1966, when Hoekstra was 13 years old. He scored a monumental upset, winning by almost six percent. Hoekstra dominated the district's more populated southern portion; Vander Jagt's margins in the northern portion, his longtime base, weren't enough to close the gap. This primary win was tantamount to election in a district reckoned as Michigan's most Republican district; the GOP has held the district for all but four years since it was created in 1873. Hoekstra later defeated Democrat John H. Miltner and
Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
Dick Jacobs in the general election, with 63% of the vote. Hoekstra continued to ride his bicycle across the district every summer, and biked across the state for his gubernatorial campaign. When he was first elected, Hoekstra initially pledged to serve no more than six terms (12 years) in the House. However, in 2004, he announced he would break that pledge and seek a seventh term. In 2006, Hoekstra's Leadership PAC (the Mileage Fund) raised nearly $160,000 in Political Action Contributions from contributors including the
Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a trade union, labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a di ...
, Michigan Credit Union League, and Little Planet Books. Hoekstra faced no significant opposition in the Republican primary or in the general election (as in his previous five reelection campaigns) and went on to secure his seventh term. Shortly after the primary, he was named chairman of the Intelligence Committee, succeeding Porter Goss, who became
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community. The director reports to the D ...
.


2006

Hoekstra had no primary opponent. In November he was opposed by the Democratic candidate Kimon Kotos, who was also his 2004 opponent. Hoekstra defeated Kotos 183,518 votes to 87,361 votes.


2008

Hoekstra ran for re-election in 2008 against Fred Johnson, associate professor of History at Hope College. He beat Johnson by 215,471 to 119,959 votes.


Tenure

Hoekstra had a conservative voting record, consistent with the conservative nature of the 2nd congressional district. He opposed abortion rights, opposed expanding health care benefits for children, opposed gay adoption rights and gay marriage, and voted against paid parental leave for federal employees. However, he also opposed amending the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
to prohibit flag desecration.


Gun laws

Hoekstra consistently opposed
gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...
during his tenure, earning an A rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund. In 2005 he voted to prohibit product lawsuits against gun manufacturers. In 1994 he voted against the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.


False claims about WMDs in Iraq

Hoekstra was a proponent of the claim that the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), and held onto this belief even after no WMDs were found in the wake of the Iraq invasion. In 2006, Hoekstra made headlines by announcing at a press conference in the Capitol that
weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...
had been located in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
in the form of 500
chemical weapon A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...
s. However, the weapons in question were defunct munitions, manufactured prior to the 1991 Gulf War and which had been scattered throughout Iraq. The media had already reported on these munitions when Hoekstra made his announcement that the weapons had been discovered. Hoekstra's insistence that the Hussein regime possessed weapons of mass destruction were disputed by both
Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...
officials, the Duelfer Report, and the intelligence community. On November 3, 2006, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported that a website created at the request of Hoekstra and
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Pat Roberts Charles Patrick Roberts (born April 20, 1936) is a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of R ...
was found to contain detailed information that could potentially be helpful to those seeking to produce
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s. The website was shut down on November 2 following questioning by ''The New York Times''. As of September 17, 2007, some news outlets reported that the Congressional committee Hoekstra had overseen had created "erroneous" and "misleading" reports about Iran's nuclear capabilities. "Among the committee's assertions is that Iran is producing weapons-grade uranium at its facility in the town of Natanz. The IAEA called that "incorrect", noting that weapons-grade uranium is enriched to a level of 90 percent or more. Iran has enriched uranium to 3.5 percent under IAEA monitoring."


Operation Iraqi Freedom documents

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, some 48,000 boxes of documents, audiotapes and videotapes were discovered by the U.S. military. In March 2006, the U.S. government, at the urging of members of Congress, made them available online at its Foreign Military Studies Office website, requesting Arabic translators around the world to help in the translation. On April 18, 2006, about a month after the first documents were made public, Hoekstra, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, issued a news release acknowledging "minimal risks," but saying the site "will enable us to better understand information such as Saddam's links to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and violence against the Iraqi people." He added: "It will allow us to leverage the Internet to enable a mass examination as opposed to limiting it to a few exclusive elites." In early November 2006, the entire set of documents was removed. Media reports stated that the website was taken offline because of security concerns regarding the posting of sophisticated diagrams and other information regarding nuclear weapon design prior to the 1991 Persian Gulf war.


Repatriation of Yemeni captives in Guantanamo

On December 27, 2009, Hoekstra commented on reports that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who had allegedly tried to set off a suicide bomb on
Northwest Airlines Flight 253 The attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 occurred on December 25, 2009, aboard an Airbus A330 as it prepared to land at Detroit Metropolitan Airport following a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterd ...
on December 25, 2009, had subsequently confessed to being trained and equipped in Yemen. Hoekstra called for a halt to the repatriation of Yemeni captives in Guantanamo.


Tea Party Caucus

Hoekstra was a founding member of the Congressional House Tea Party Caucus in 2010.


Committee assignments

* Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Ranking Member) ** As ranking member of the full committee, Rep. Hoekstra was entitled to sit as an ''ex officio'' member of all subcommittees *
Committee on Education and Labor The Committee on Education and Workforce is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 45 members of this committee. Since 2025, the chair of the Education and Work ...
** Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education ** Subcommittee on Workforce Protections


Caucus memberships

* Founding chairman of the Education Freedom Caucus * Founding chairman of the Congressional Caucus on the Netherlands


2010 gubernatorial election

In December 2008, Hoekstra said he would not seek re-election to his U.S. House seat in 2010, and instead campaign to be Michigan's governor. Hoekstra joined Mike Bouchard, the Oakland County Sheriff and former state senator, former Gateway, Inc. president
Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. Snyder, who was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, ...
, State Senator Tom George and Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox as 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidates. In the primary, held on August 3, 2010, Hoekstra finished second to Snyder.


2012 U.S. Senate election

Hoekstra was suggested as a possible challenger for Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow in the 2012 Senate election, but he initially declined to run. Hoekstra later changed his mind and decided to challenge Stabenow in the election. On August 29, 2011, Hoekstra was endorsed by Republican Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, and on September 23, 2011, Hoekstra was endorsed by 2012 Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. Hoekstra faced Stabenow and four third-party candidates in the general election. On November 6, 2012, Hoekstra was defeated by Stabenow, receiving 38% of the vote.


Ad controversy

Hoekstra targeted Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow with a television ad which ran statewide during the 2012 Super Bowl. The 30-second ad, created by Republican advertising consultant Fred Davis III, opened with the sound of a gong and the image of a Chinese woman (played by 2012 Miss Napa Valley Lisa Chan) riding a bike alongside a rice paddy. The ad sarcastically accused Stabenow of contributing to the U.S.' spending problem, with the woman thanking "Michigan Senator Debbie Spenditnow", in broken English, implying Stabenow has earned China's gratitude for making the U.S. economy "very weak" while China's "get very good". The commercial included a link to a Hoekstra campaign website with statistics about federal spending, decorated with images of Chinese flags and currency and using a stereotypical
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
font. In the
HTML Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It defines the content and structure of web content. It is often assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets ( ...
code on Hoekstra's site, the woman in the ad is identified as "yellowgirl". A statement released by the Hoekstra campaign said the HTML code was mistakenly shortened from "yellowshirtgirl". Asian-American groups called the ad "very disturbing", and two of Hoekstra's GOP opponents, Clark Durant and Gary Glenn, questioned whether Hoekstra was the right candidate for Republicans to support. The ad was criticized by Michael Yaki, former aide to House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...
, a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and U.S. Senator Dan Inouye. James Fallows of ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'' called it the "most revolting ad". The
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
denounced the ad as an "unnecessary race card." The ad proved costly for Hoekstra; several polls reported him losing ground to Stabenow in a head-to-head match-up. Hoekstra initially stood by the ad, claiming it hit Stabenow "smack dab between the eyes" on the economy. However, on February 10, 2012, Hoekstra shut down his controversial Chinese-themed website and phased in a new TV commercial in place of his original ad. American Values super PAC, an Asian American group, claimed credit for the scrub shortly after the group's launch of an online viral ad condemning Hoekstra. On February 16, Chan apologized for her involvement in the ad. In a statement on her
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page, she said the role was "not in any way representative of who I am" and "absolutely a mistake on my part." Despite the controversy, Hoekstra won the Republican primary. He lost to Stabenow in the general election.


Post-political career

In February 2011, Hoekstra joined the government relations group and
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
law firm Dickstein Shapiro, and was named a visiting distinguished fellow at the conservative
think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...
, concentrating on education reform. In 2014, Hoekstra left Dickstein Shapiro to join one of its rivals,
Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law firm, law and lobbying firm founded in Miami in 1967 by Mel Greenberg, Larry J. Hoffman, and Robert H. Traurig. As of 2025, it is the eighth-largest law firm in the United States. The firm has 49 locati ...
. Hoekstra joined Steven Emerson's Investigative Project on Terrorism in 2014 as a Shillman Senior Fellow, specializing in national security, international relations, global terrorism and cyber security. Hoekstra published his first book in October 2015, ''Architects of Disaster: The Destruction of Libya'' with Terri Blumenfeld. In an interview with NPR's Robert Siegel on December 10, 2014, Hoekstra said he disagreed with the recently released
Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture The Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program is a report compiled by the bipartisan United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) about the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)'s Detent ...
. CNN's KFile reported that Hoekstra in 2016 accused Huma Abedin of ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. A 2016 ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' fact-checker gave Hoekstra's claim "four Pinocchios". CNN also stated that Hoekstra was a frequent guest on a talk show hosted by Frank Gaffney, an anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist based in Washington. On March 11, 2017, Hoekstra said that
Chelsea Manning Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning, December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage ...
,
Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is a former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence contractor and whistleblower who leaked classified documents revealing the existence of global surveillance programs. Born in 1983 in Elizabeth ...
, and other leakers of government materials, having illegally released classified information, were traitors and should have taken their evidence to the intelligence committees of the U.S. Congress for proper investigations.


U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands

On July 24, 2017, President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
nominated Hoekstra to be
United States ambassador to the Netherlands The United States diplomatic mission to the Netherlands consists of the embassy located in The Hague and a consular office located in Amsterdam. In 1782, John Adams was appointed America's first Minister Plenipotentiary to Holland. According t ...
. He was confirmed by the Senate on November 9 via voice vote and sworn in by Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
on December 11, 2017. He took office on January 10, 2018.


Anti-Muslim comments

Later that December, NOS U.S. correspondent Wouter Zwart questioned Hoekstra about inaccurate claims that he had made in November 2015 at a panel titled "Muslim Migration into Europe: Eurabia come True?" hosted by the David Horowitz Freedom Center that the Netherlands had " no-go zones" and that politicians and cars were being set on fire in the country due to radical Islam. Hoekstra told Zwart that he had never said such things, saying, "we would call it
fake news Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information (misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes) claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person ...
. I never said that." Zwart then played the clip in which he made those remarks for his viewers. Later in the interview, Hoekstra denied that he denied it, saying "I didn't call it 'fake news'. I didn't use those words today." On December 23, Hoekstra issued an apology on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, writing that he "made certain remarks in 2015 and regret edthe exchange during the ''
Nieuwsuur Nieuwsuur (''News Hour'') is a Dutch current affairs television programme produced for the NPO, produced by the public broadcasters NOS and NTR. It is broadcast daily between 9:30 pm and 10:15 pm (9:30-10 pm at weekends) on NPO 2. The progra ...
'' interview". On January 10, 2018, during his press conference after presenting his credentials to King Willem-Alexander, Hoekstra said that he did not want to revisit the comments made in 2015. Despite repeated questions from Dutch reporters regarding these comments, Hoekstra refused to talk about these statements and refused to answer further questions. On January 11, 2018, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Steve Goldstein said that in 2015, Hoekstra "made comments that should not have been made", that "the State Department does not agree with those statements" and "that is not the language we would use." He added that the "comments were wrong and don't reflect the U.S. view of the Netherlands". One day later, in an interview with Dutch newspaper ''
De Telegraaf ''De Telegraaf'' (; ) is the largest Netherlands, Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, ''de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief since ...
'', Hoekstra finally retracted his statement about the presence of "no-go zones" in the Netherlands where cars and politicians are being set on fire, saying: "Looking back, I'm dismayed that I said it. It was an incorrect statement. It was just wrong." He further claimed that he could not recall how he got to the statement or what it was based on, saying: "I've mixed up countries. I was wrong, and I don't know how that could have happened. I do know: it was wrong."


Interference in Dutch politics

In September 2020, a group of Dutch officials demanded answers from Hoekstra in response to reports that he had hosted a fund-raising event at the U.S. embassy for the far right Dutch political party
Forum for Democracy Forum for Democracy ( ; FvD) is a far-right political party in the Netherlands, originally founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet and Henk Otten in 2015 before registering itself as a party the following year. The FvD first participated i ...
, a potential violation of international law. This is not the first time Hoekstra has been associated with the far-right party. In May 2020, Hoekstra was interviewed by party leader Thierry Baudet on the party's video channel and he was also a guest speaker at the party's conference in November 2019.


Chair of the Michigan Republican Party

On January 20, 2024, Hoekstra was elected chair of the Michigan Republican Party. Hoekstra is listed as a "contributor" to Project 2025.


U.S. ambassador to Canada

On November 20, 2024, Hoekstra was announced as the
United States ambassador to Canada This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Canada.U.S. ...
by President-elect Trump. On February 12, 2025, his nomination was sent to the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. During his confirmation hearing on March 13, 2025, he asserted that Canada was a sovereign state and that he would work to strengthen relations between the two countries despite Trump's repeated remarks about making Canada the 51st state of the United States. Hoekstra also declared that Canada should remain in the Five Eyes alliance despite media reports that White House officials wanted to suspend the country's participation in the alliance. On April 9, 2025, Hoekstra was confirmed by the Senate as Ambassador to Canada.


See also

* WMD conjecture after the 2003 invasion of Iraq


References


External links


Articles by Pete Hoekstra
''IPT (Investigative Project on Terrorism)'' * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoekstra, Pete 1953 births 2024 United States presidential electors 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century Michigan politicians 21st-century American diplomats 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 21st-century Michigan politicians Ambassadors of the United States to Canada Ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands American critics of Islam Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Candidates in the 2012 United States elections Diplomats from Michigan Dutch emigrants to the United States First Trump administration personnel Hope College alumni Living people Members of Congress who became lobbyists Michigan Republican Party chairs Naturalized citizens of the United States People from Holland, Michigan Politicians from Groningen (city) Reformed Church in America members Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Ross School of Business alumni Second Trump administration personnel Tea Party movement activists The Heritage Foundation people