President Donald Trump Seeking to Appoint Portland Hotelier Gordon Sondland Ambassador to European Union

Wall Street Journal reports potential posting for local man who contributed $1 million to Trump's inauguration.

European Union headquarters in Brussels (Wiktor Dabkowski, action press)
By Nigel Jaquiss

President Donald Trump reportedly wants Portland hotelier Gordon Sondland to be the next ambassador to the European Union.

The news, reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes on the heels of an Oregonian report last fall that Sondland was being vetted for a potential ambassadorship.

Sondland leads Provenance Hotels which owns or manages 10 hotels, including the Heathman, Sentinel, Lucia and deLuxe in Portland.

Sondland is a Seattle native whose prized possessions include a signed first edition of Atlas Shrugged. He was an early supporter of Trump's rise to the White House, though he has tried to balance that support with the politics of the Pacific Northwest.

After Sondland was listed as a sponsor for a Trump fundraiser in Seattle in August 2016, a Provenance spokesperson told WW that Sondland disavowed Trump's constantly evolving positions" that "diverge[d] from [his] personal beliefs and values on so many levels."

But Sondland then reportedly donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee, to be used for parties around the president's swearing-in.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.