Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Ambassador to the United
Nations Nikki Haley announced Tuesday she is
resigning at the end of the year, raising questions
about the outspoken diplomat’s political ambitions.
A smiling Haley announced her decision at
an Oval Office meeting alongside the president,
bringing up her own political prospects even
as she underscored her continued support for
Trump. Without prompting from reporters, she
said she had no plans to run for president “in
2020” and would campaign for Trump.
The news blindsided some key U.S. allies and
many congressional Republicans involved in foreign
policy matters.
Haley, the former South Carolina governor, has
often been an unpredictable and independent
force in the Trump administration. At times she
has offered strikingly different perspectives on
world events from her more isolationist-minded
boss.
Haley, who is 46 and not personally wealthy,
hinted in her resignation letter to Trump that she
is headed to the private sector.
“I have given everything I’ve got these last
eight years,” she said, referring to her six years as
governor as well as her time at the U.N. “And I do
think it’s good to rotate in other people who can
put that same energy and power into it.”
Trump was asked why the announcement was
made now since Haley is staying until the end
of the year. Instead of answering directly, he recounted
how she has had to work on tough issues,
such as Iran and North Korea.
White House officials had sought to put a
hold on Trump’s record-setting turnover in the
run-up to the Nov. 6 elections, with aides being
asked months ago to step down or commit to stay
through Election Day to avoid adding to a sense
of turmoil.
Still, the prospect of post-midterm changes
continues to hang over the West Wing, and Haley’s
exit was one that has been
discussed, according to a senior
administration official not authorized
to publicly discuss private
conversations.
Trump said Haley first discussed
with him leaving six months ago.
The senior official noted that their
conversation coincided with the
appointments of Mike Pompeo as
secretary of state and John Bolton
as national security adviser in an
earlier upending of top foreign policy officials. Haley
had expressed some frustration that her voice
had been diminished as the two men became the
aggressive new faces of Trump’s international policy,
the official said.
The six-month timeline also coincides with a
high-profile spat between Haley and the White
House in April, when she drew the president’s ire
for previewing in a television appearance the administration’s
planned imposition of a new round
of sanctions on Russia. When the sanctions never
materialized, White House officials said the plans
had changed without Haley being briefed, and
economic adviser Larry Kudlow suggested she
was confused.
“I don’t get confused,” Haley said in a sharply
worded response to the West Wing.
Haley was appointed to the U.N. post in November
2016 and last month coordinated Trump’s
second trip to the United Nations, including his
first time chairing the Security Council.
A rookie to international politics, the former
South Carolina governor was an unusual pick for
to be U.N. envoy. “It was a blessing to go into the
U.N. every day with body armor,” Haley said, saying
her job was to defend America on the world
stage.
At the U.N., she helped spearhead the administration’s
efforts to combat what it alleged to
be anti-American and anti-Israel actions by the
international body, including the U.S. decision
to leave the Human Rights Council and to stop
funding the U.N. agency for Palestinian Refugees.
Haley also secured three successively tougher
Security Council sanction resolutions against
North Korea — which the administration has
credited with bringing Kim Jong Un to the negotiating
table — and an arms embargo against
South Sudan.
But under Haley’s tenure at the U.N., the U.S.
has faced strong opposition from Russia when it
comes to addressing the seven-year-old war in
Syria, and frustration from European allies over
reimposing nuclear sanctions against Iran.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One he
was considering five candidates for Haley’s job
and that a successor would be named in two to
three weeks — or maybe sooner. Among those under
consideration, Trump said, is former deputy
national security adviser Dina Powell.
UN’s Ambassador Nikki Haley announces resignation for end of the year
Nikki
Haley
