Pete Hoekstra

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox officeholder Cornelis Piet Hoekstra (Template:IPAc-en; born October 30, 1953)<ref>INTERVIEW; Pete Hoekstra baalt van valse start: "Wie wil er nu zo beginnen?" on YouTube.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is an American politician and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 33rd United States ambassador to Canada. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the United States ambassador to the Netherlands from 2018 to 2021, and was the U.S. representative for Michigan's 2nd congressional district from 1993 to 2011.

Born in the Netherlands, 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 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 in the Republican primary. Hoekstra was also the Republican nominee for the United States Senate in 2012, losing to Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow in the general election.

On July 24, 2017, Hoekstra was nominated to be United States ambassador to the Netherlands by President Donald Trump. 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, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Hoekstra to serve as the United States ambassador to Canada. On April 9, 2025, Hoekstra was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Ambassador to Canada.

Early life and education

Hoekstra was born Cornelis Piet Hoekstra in Groningen, Netherlands. He moved to the U.S. with his parents at the age of three, and Anglicized his name to Peter Hoekstra.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He graduated from Holland Christian High School (Holland, Michigan) in 1971.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Hope College in 1975 and an MBA from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business 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 Michigan's 2nd congressional district. The district, previously the 9th, had been represented for 26 years by Guy Vander Jagt, longtime chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hoekstra rode his bicycle across the district, which stretched down the Lake Michigan shoreline from Cadillac to the Grand Rapids suburbs. He argued 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 Dick Jacobs in the general election, with 63% of the vote.<ref> Template:Cite web</ref> Hoekstra continued to ride his bicycle across the district every summer, and biked across the state for his gubernatorial campaign.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2006, Hoekstra's Leadership PAC (the Mileage Fund) raised nearly $160,000 in Political Action Contributions from contributors including the Teamsters, Michigan Credit Union League, and Little Planet Books.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.

2006

Template:See also Hoekstra was unopposed in the Republican primary. In November he was opposed by the Democratic candidate Kimon Kotos,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> who was also his 2004 opponent. Hoekstra defeated Kotos 183,518 votes to 87,361 votes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 natureTemplate:According to whom 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 to prohibit flag desecration.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Gun laws

Hoekstra consistently opposed gun control during his tenure, earning an A rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1" /> In 2005 he voted to prohibit product lawsuits against gun manufacturers.<ref name=":1" /> In 1994 he voted against the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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) at the time of the Second Gulf War, and held onto this belief even after no WMDs were found in the wake of the Iraq invasion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2006, Hoekstra made headlines by announcing at a press conference in the Capitol that weapons of mass destruction had been located in Iraq in the form of 500 chemical weapons.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> However, the weapons in question were defunct munitions, manufactured prior to the 1991 Gulf War and which had been scattered throughout Iraq.<ref name=":2" /> The media had already reported on these munitions when Hoekstra made his announcement that the weapons had been discovered.<ref name=":2" /> Hoekstra's insistence that the Hussein regime possessed weapons of mass destruction were disputed by both Pentagon officials, the Duelfer Report, and the intelligence community.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>The Situation Room, CNN. June 21, 2006. Transcript available.</ref><ref>The Washington Post: Lawmakers Cite Weapons Found in Iraq. June 22, 2006.</ref>

On November 3, 2006, The New York Times reported that a website created at the request of Hoekstra and Senator Pat Roberts was found to contain detailed information that could potentially be helpful to those seeking to produce nuclear weapons. The website was shut down on November 2 following questioning by The New York Times.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 on December 25, 2009, had subsequently confessed to being trained and equipped in Yemen.<ref> Template:Cite news</ref><ref> Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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
  • 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

Template:Main 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, 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2012 U.S. Senate election

Hoekstra was suggested as a possible challenger for Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow in the 2012 Senate election,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but he initially declined to run.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hoekstra later changed his mind and decided to challenge Stabenow in the election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On August 29, 2011, Hoekstra was endorsed by Republican Michigan Governor Rick Snyder,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and on September 23, 2011, Hoekstra was endorsed by 2012 Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ad controversy

Hoekstra targeted Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow with a television ad which ran statewide during the 2012 Super Bowl.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 font.<ref>Ad Draws Protests for Portrayal of Asians (The New York Times).</ref> In the HTML code on Hoekstra's site, the woman in the ad is identified as "yellowgirl".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A statement released by the Hoekstra campaign said the HTML code was mistakenly shortened from "yellowshirtgirl".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Chinese-American groups called the ad "very disturbing",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and two of Hoekstra's GOP opponents, Clark Durant and Gary Glenn, questioned whether Hoekstra was the right candidate for Republicans to support.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The ad was criticized by Michael Yaki, former aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and U.S. Senator Dan Inouye.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Inouye on Hoekstra: ‘His racist thoughts are not welcome in the United States Senate’ (The Washington Post, July 2, 2012).</ref> James Fallows of The Atlantic called it the "most revolting ad".<ref>Super Bowl Special! My Nominee for Most Revolting Ad (The Atlantic).</ref> The NAACP denounced the ad as an "unnecessary race card."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The ad proved costly for Hoekstra; several polls reported him losing ground to Stabenow in a head-to-head match-up.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hoekstra initially stood by the ad, claiming it hit Stabenow "smack dab between the eyes" on the economy.<ref>Catanese, David. 'It hits Debbie smack dab between the eyes'. Politico, February 6, 2012.</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> American Values super PAC, a Chinese American group, claimed credit for the scrub shortly after the group's launch of an online viral ad condemning Hoekstra.<ref>"Pete Hoekstra Scrubs Racially Tinged Super Bowl Ad From Internet" February 22, 2012 ABC News.</ref>

On February 16, Chan apologized for her involvement in the ad. In a statement on her Facebook page, she said the role was "not in any way representative of who I am" and "absolutely a mistake on my part."<ref>Stableford, Dylan. Actress in controversial ad for Pete Hoekstra’s Senate campaign is ‘deeply sorry’. Yahoo! News, February 16, 2012.</ref>

Despite the controversy, Hoekstra won the Republican primary.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He lost to Stabenow in the general election.

Post-political career

In February 2011, Hoekstra joined the government relations group and Washington, D.C. law firm Dickstein Shapiro,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was named a visiting distinguished fellow at the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, concentrating on education reform.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> In 2014, Hoekstra left Dickstein Shapiro to join one of its rivals, Greenberg Traurig.<ref>Tau, Byron.13 K Streeters cross the street Politico, July 9, 2014.</ref>

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.<ref>PR NewsWire January 14, 2014.</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

CNN's KFile reported that Hoekstra in 2016 accused Huma Abedin of ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. A 2016 Washington Post fact-checker gave Hoekstra's claim "four Pinocchios".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On March 11, 2017, Hoekstra said that Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, 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.<ref>Bennett, Geoff, guest host. "WikiLeaks Release of CIA Hacking Documents: Pete Hoekstra, guest" (March 11, 2017). Washington Journal. C-Span website (8 min. in) Retrieved March 11, 2017.</ref>

U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands

Hoesktra as the U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands in 2017.

On July 24, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Hoekstra to be United States ambassador to the Netherlands.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was confirmed by the Senate on November 9 <ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on December 11, 2017.<ref name="sworn-in-ambassador">Template:Cite web</ref> He took office on January 10, 2018.<ref name="assumed-office">Template:Cite web</ref>

Anti-Muslim comments

Template:See also 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<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> that the Netherlands had "no-go zones" and that politicians and cars were being set on fire in the country due to radical Islam.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hoekstra told Zwart that he had never said such things, saying, "we would call it fake news. I never said that."<ref name=":0" /> 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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On December 23, Hoekstra issued an apology on Twitter, writing that he "made certain remarks in 2015 and regret[ted] the exchange during the Nieuwsuur interview".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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",<ref name=ap1101>Template:Cite web</ref> that "the State Department does not agree with those statements" and "that is not the language we would use."<ref name=ap1101 /> He added that the "comments were wrong and don't reflect the U.S. view of the Netherlands".<ref name=ap1101/> One day later, in an interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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, a potential violation of international law.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Chair of the Michigan Republican Party

On January 20, 2024, Hoekstra was elected chair of the Michigan Republican Party.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hoekstra is listed as a "contributor" to Project 2025.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

U.S. ambassador to Canada

On November 20, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Hoekstra as the United States ambassador to Canada for the second Trump administration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On February 12, 2025, his nomination was sent to the Senate.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> During his confirmation hearing on March 13, 2025, Hoekstra expressed his desire to strengthen U.S.-Canada relations. Hoekstra remarked that Canada should remain in the Five Eyes alliance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On April 9, 2025, Hoekstra was confirmed by the United States Senate as Ambassador to Canada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On September 18, 2025, Hoekstra criticized the Canadian response to the U.S. tariffs. He called the Liberal Party's victory in the 2025 Canadian federal election as "an anti-American campaign", and objected to finance minister François-Philippe Champagne describing the tension as a trade war, which Hoekstra said was "not constructive" and "a bad place to go." Hoekstra argued that Canada has "the best tariff rate in the world" and that it is Canada that is treating the tariff dispute as a trade war.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hoekstra's comments drew widespread pushback from Canadian politicians and business leaders; Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, called them "gaslighting" and said "I don't know what his objective is, but maybe his audience is actually in Washington rather than across this country."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Writing in the Toronto Star, Andrew Philips described Hoekstra as "infuriating, undiplomatic",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while in The Globe and Mail, Gary Mason wrote "What is really shocking about his statements, however, is just how tone-deaf and arrogant they are. Can the man not even begin to understand why Canadians might be upset with tariffs that are devastating our domestic economy?"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In October 2025, during a gathering of the Canadian American Business Council in Ottawa, Hoekstra used expletives including "fuck" in a rant directed at Ontario's trade representative that also mentioned Ontario Premier Doug Ford, reportedly over an anti-tariff ad that Ford's government had ran in American television markets. Trump, citing the ads, had halted ongoing trade negotiations and threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on Canadian goods.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ford called on Hoekstra to apologize the following day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• WMD conjecture after the 2003 invasion of Iraq

External links

• Articles by Pete Hoekstra IPT (Investigative Project on Terrorism)
• Template:CongLinks
• Template:C-SPAN

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