Haley’s resignation is no surprise
The US ambassador to the UN is the only Cabinet-level official whose stature has remained unaffected during her time in the Trump administration
Count me among those least surprised that United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is departing. I’ve repeatedly urged she do just that to preserve her reputation and political viability and to get out before the special counsel’s report lands.
Aside from Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, she is the only Cabinet-level official whose stature has arguably increased (or at least not decreased) during her time in the administration. She is the only one with a political future who can say that.
Haley was a forceful advocate at the UN and in an administration that pandered to dictators, a credible voice for human rights. As the Washington Post reported: “Though Haley advanced Trump’s policies, she occasionally made public statements at odds with the White House and the president she served.
“In December, she said that women who had accused Trump of sexual misconduct ‘should be heard’. When a White House adviser said Haley had been confused in prematurely announcing more sanctions against Russia, she simply said: ‘With all due respect, I don’t get confused’.”
The timing, however, is curious — but less so than one might imagine. She is giving the administration ample notice and not leaving until the end of the year. She might have had enough after the GOP’s nasty, misogynistic rhetoric expressed throughout the confirmation of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh for Supreme Court. Or this just might have been the most convenient moment — after Kavanaugh was sworn in and far enough in advance of the midterms to not be too much of a distraction.
Haley is in a unique position among exTrump Cabinet officials. She’s uninvolved in the Russia probe (although we do not know if she was interviewed in connection with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry). Republicans have no cause for complaint, and yet she managed to let her criticism of incidents such as President Donald Trump’s post-Charlottesville remarks be known.
She now has a bunch of options. First, she has invaluable insight into President Trump’s temperament. If she actually agrees with many sources in Bob Woodward’s book and the unnamed New York Times op-ed author that Trump is incapable of carrying out his duties, she has an obligation to relate those insights to Congress. Next January, if Democrats win the House, Representative Jerrold Nadler (Democrat, from New York), who would chair the House Judiciary Committee, may want to talk to her — as well as others who’ve left (Rex Tillerson, H.R. McMaster, Gary Cohn) to assess Trump’s fitness. (What we do about that beyond investigating is far from clear, but if Haley knows of a risk to the country, she is obligated to come forward.)
Second, she might simply bide her time, waiting for the Trump administration to collapse under the weight of multiple investigations. She will then be in a position to pick up the pieces, a unifying figure not objectionable to Trump cultists or to the flock of Republicans who, when things go downhill, will claim they opposed Trump all along. She will be untainted and arguably the most highly credentialed challenger to Trump still within the GOP fold in 2020.
Crazed rhetoric
Third, she might prepare to primary fellow South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey O. Graham, who is up for reelection in 2020. Because Graham has become the president’s vicious attack dog, he’ll look terrible in hindsight if Trump’s scandals catch up with him. His crazed rhetoric during the Kavanaugh hearings has made him a hero inside the GOP but a laughingstock outside it. Depending on how Kavanaugh and Trump fare, Graham’s conduct not only with regard to Kavanaugh but also in slavishly defending Trump may be his undoing. Fourth, if Trump’s grip on the GOP remains — and his attacks on the rule of law, facts, women and decency continue — she would be an entirely credible member either at the top of or in the No 2 slot on a centre-right independent ticket, especially if the Democrats choose a far-left candidate with limited appeal. Haley-Murkowski? KasichHaley, or Haley-Kasich? Haley-Heitkamp? There are oodles of options.
■ Jennifer Rubin is a leading American political columnist. Her work has been published in several media outlets including Politico, New York Post and Washington Post among others.