Trump's NATO nominee pledges to strengthen alliance despite Russian pivot

By Patricia Zengerle and Daphne Psaledakis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, pledged on Tuesday to strengthen NATO and said the Republican president remains committed to the alliance.

"If confirmed, I will work tirelessly to strengthen the alliance, ensure the security of the American people and uphold our nation's role as the beacon of freedom and liberty," Whitaker said at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"President Trump has been clear. The United States remains committed to NATO and to peace through strength," he said.

Whitaker, 55, a lawyer with little foreign policy experience, worked in the Justice Department during Trump's first term, including three months from late 2018 to early 2019 as acting attorney general.

He is expected to be confirmed, as Trump's fellow Republicans control a majority in the Senate.

Whitaker's comments came amid tensions over Trump's apparent lurch toward Russia since beginning his second term in the White House in January, shocking traditional NATO allies in Europe and leaving Ukraine increasingly vulnerable as it fights a Russian invasion.

Trump also has demanded that Europe's NATO members ramp up their defense expenditures, given that European nations on average spend below NATO's 2% of GDP guidelines, while the U.S. finances nearly two-thirds of NATO's military budget.

Trump has called for NATO members to spend 5% of GDP on defense, which is far more than Washington spends.

Trump has said he was not sure the U.S. should be spending anything on NATO, leading to speculation that he might withdraw the United States from the alliance, despite a U.S. law forbidding any president from doing so unilaterally.

Whitaker said that, if confirmed, he would visit every NATO member within his first 30 days, to discuss Trump's demand that every member should spend 5% of GDP on defense.

"I believe that a robust NATO can continue to serve as a bedrock of peace and prosperity, but its vitality rests on every ally doing their fair share by growing our economies and investing in our common defense," he said.

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's meeting with Trump devolved into an extraordinarily heated exchange before the world's media.

Trump halted U.S. military aid to Ukraine on Monday, and Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he regretted the clash and wanted to "make things right."

Zelenskiy said he was ready to sign a deal giving the United States access to Ukrainian minerals, which he had left on the table when he abandoned a visit to Washington after the argument with Trump.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)