President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Charles Koch Institute Vice President William Ruger to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.
Ruger, a vocal critic of the war in Afghanistan, would replace Ross Wilson, who currently serves as the acting ambassador.
Multiple sources told the Wall Street Journal that Trump believes Ruger’s nomination will be further confirmation of his campaign promise to end American’s wars. The president has already started drawing down U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan, and the Pentagon reportedly plans to cut forces in country to their lowest numbers since before the rise of ISIS by the fall. (RELATED: Can Ending ‘Endless Wars’ Save Trump’s Presidency?)
LATROBE, PA – SEPTEMBER 03: President Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a campaign rally at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport on September 3, 2020 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Trump won Pennsylvania in the 2016 election by a narrow margin. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
WJS’s sources further claimed that the State Department has already notified the Afghan government of Trump’s intent to nominate Ruger, but neither he White House nor the State Department responded to Daily Caller’s inquiries by press time.
The Trump administration has recorded a series of wins for the president’s agenda in the Middle East in recent months. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brokered a ceasefire between the Afghan government and Taliban forces over the summer, and Trump and senior adviser to the president Jared Kushner announced a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates at the White House just last month.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available.