Donald Trump Picks Mike Huckabee To Be Ambassador To Israel

President-elect Donald Trump says his pick for US Ambassador to Israel is former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as he shapes up his administration.

"He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him," Trump said on his Truth Social account. "Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!"

Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests, the Associated Press reported.

He ran for president in 2016 but dropped out as Trump rolled to the nomination.

He was considered for the ambassador role after the 2016 election.

At the time, Huckabee posted a Conservative Tribune story on Facebook, falsely accusing liberal Jews of defacing a church at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, in reaction to Trump's election.

The incident actually took place in March. Neither of the two men charged in the incident was Jewish. He later apologized.

Huckabee, who served as governor of Arkansas from July 1996 to January 2007, also ran for president in 2008, hosted a television show on Fox News and authored several books.

He has stood firmly in the GOP camp on social policy issues: He has strongly opposed abortion, even in the cases of rape or incest, and has spoken out against same-sex marriage.

His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was Trump's press secretary for 3 1/2 years. She went on to become governor of Arkansas.