WASHINGTON – Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands and a former congressman from Michigan, is getting buzz about possibly becoming President Donald Trump's top intelligence adviser.

Speaking in Washington on Friday, Trump was asked by reporters about the possibility of Hoekstra being nominated to be the official director of national intelligence and the president had positive words for him.

"I like Hoekstra a lot," Trump said. "He’s great. He’s doing a fantastic job in the Netherlands right now."

Trump, however, stopped short of saying he would nominate Hoekstra, saying instead that he is working with the Senate Intelligence Committee and its chairman, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., to come up with a suitable candidate.

"It’s a job that everybody wants," Trump said.

On Thursday, Trump announced that he would appoint Joseph Maquire, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, to be his acting director of national intelligence. Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said he's in no rush to nominate a permanent replacement to Dan Coats because "we have a great acting."

Trump announced a few weeks ago that Coats, a former U.S. senator from Indiana, was stepping down. Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, had been discussed as a possible replacement but took himself out of the running.

Hoekstra, of Holland, represented Michigan's 2nd Congressional District from 1993 to 2011, leaving office after an unsuccessful run for governor in 2010. During his tenure in Congress, he served as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Hoekstra was also an early supporter of Trump in the 2016 campaign and served as a surrogate for him on TV and at rallies.

Read more:

Donald Trump: John Ratcliffe withdrawing his name to be Director of National Intelligence

Hoekstra is sworn in as ambassador to the Netherlands

Contact Todd Spangler:tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler. Read more onMichigan politics and sign up for ourelections newsletter.