Veldkamp was a long-time member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) before he joined New Social Contract (NSC) to participate in the 2023 general election.[3][5] During the campaign, Veldkamp said to be critical of the "transfer of powers" towards the European Union (EU). He presented the newly-founded party he joined as an "optimistic party for the dissatisfied citizen".[6] He was elected to the House of Representatives, where his focus as a parliamentarian was on foreign affairs and migration.[7]
After the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB formed the Schoof cabinet, Veldkamp was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs on 2 July 2024, succeeding Hanke Bruins Slot.[3][8] In his first days, he attended the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., where he met with Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz. Veldkamp announced that the Netherlands will push for the EU to declare Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps a terrorist organization.[9] When the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2024, Veldkamp said that the warrant would be respected if Netanyahu were to visit the Netherlands. An intended trip to Israel by Veldkamp was postponed the same day, after his plans, kept secret for security reasons, had been leaked.[10][11]