Choosing the next US ambassador to Germany

Next month, German voters will go to the polls to elect the government that will lead one of America's most important allies for the duration of President Trump's current term in office. Conspicuously absent from that unfolding political drama, however, is one crucial observer: a U.S. ambassador.

America's envoy to Germany is just one of dozens of high-level diplomatic posts the president has yet to fill. And this particular appointment warrants swift nomination given the precarious place in which America finds its relationship with Germany.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent intimation that the United States may no longer be completely reliable is bad news for American interests abroad. Indeed, the chancellor undoubtedly spoke for many world leaders when she questioned President Trump's willingness to honor America's decades-old commitments. That's deeply unsettling for a turbulent world in desperate need of principled leadership from the United States.

President Trump's nascent administration has upended much of the dogma that has guided U.S. foreign policy for generations. His bellicose words and unpredictable—if not quixotic—persona mirror few American presidents, and he has broken with established policy in several key areas. Indeed, the president has not only pulled out of major free-trade negotiations, he has also suggested that the United States may repudiate its NATO obligations. It's no surprise, then, that foreign policy achievements have been elusive in the months since President Trump took office. Nevertheless, the president has an opportunity to secure a much-needed foreign policy win by nominating a strong and trustworthy candidate for ambassador to Germany.

Germany is America's most important partner on the European continent. The U.S.-German relationship anchors transatlantic cooperation on everything from energy independence to defense. Germany is therefore an indispensable ally against further Russian assaults on the territorial sovereignty of its neighbors, not to mention democratic institutions worldwide.