LANSING, Mich. — President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday he's nominating Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, to be the next U.S. ambassador to Canada.

The development means a Michigan resident will have a role in the coming Trump administration and state Republicans will have to select a new leader in the coming months.

"He did an outstanding job as United States ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our country well in this new role," Trump said in a statement Wednesday evening.

Hoekstra, a former U.S. congressman from Holland, has been a longtime ally of Trump. Hoekstra guided the Michigan Republican Party's operations during the 2024 election, which saw Trump win the state Nov. 5 by about 2 percentage points, 50% to 48%, over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Amid a dispute within the Michigan GOP, Trump endorsed Hoekstra in January to be the Republican chairman over the prior chairwoman, Kristina Karamo. In February, a judge determined Michigan Republicans had properly removed Karamo from the position.

On the campaign trail this fall in Michigan, Trump routinely praised Hoekstra's leadership. He served as the ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term in the White House.

In his statement Wednesday, Trump said Hoekstra "was a great help to our campaign as chairman of the Michigan Republican Party."

Hoekstra will not be the first Michigan political figure to serve as ambassador to Canada. Thirty-one years ago, in 1993, then-President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, chose former Gov. Jim Blanchard to fill the position.

Previously, Hoekstra was a member of the U.S. House from 1993 to 2011, chairing the House Intelligence Committee. He ran for governor unsuccessfully in 2010 and for the U.S. Senate unsuccessfully in 2012.

A source close to Hoekstra said he was initially interested in being transportation secretary in Trump's second administration. But the president-elect chose Sean Duffy, a former U.S. representative from Wisconsin, for that job on Monday.

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(Detroit News staff writer Melissa Nann Burke contributed to this story.)

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