Nikki Haley resigns as Trump’s UN ambassador
WASHINGTON, DC: Nikki Haley abruptly resigned on Tuesday as the United States ambassador to the United Nations, in the latest departure from President Donald Trump’s often shifting national security team.
Meeting Haley in the Oval Office, Trump said she had done a “fantastic job” and would stay on to the end of the year. A successor will be named “in the next two or three weeks”, he said.
However, Haley was coy on her reasons for quitting, saying only that it was “important to understand when it’s time to stand aside” after a string of challenging jobs.
US media reports quoted administration officials saying privately that Haley’s departure was a surprise even to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
In a statement to journalists at the White House that lasted a few seconds, Pompeo called her a “great partner”. He then refused to take questions.
US media speculated that Haley has ambitions for running against Trump in the primaries ahead of the 2020 elections, where she might be seen as a more moderate Republican alternative to his turbulent and often divisive presidency.
But she quashed the rumour. “No I’m not running,” she said. Trump and Haley went out of their way to emphasise that the resignation was taking place on amicable terms — something far from the norm in the administration’s turbulent first two years.
Trump later said he has five people on his shortlist to replace Haley, including his former deputy national security adviser Dina Powell, who is Egyptian American. He did not give the other four names he has in mind.
While Richard Grenell, the current US ambassador to Germany and former US spokesman at the UN, was not on the shortlist, Trump said he was willing to consider him for the post.
Earlier, the president had quipped that his own daughter, Ivanka, would make a “dynamite” replacement — an idea she quickly tamped down.