UN ambassador nominee can expect to get questions about her diplomatic experience
WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump’s pick to be America’s ambassador at the United Nations is likely to face questions about her thin diplomatic resume during an upcoming Senate confirmation hearing that will shine fresh attention on the president’s “America first” approach to foreign policy.
If confirmed by the Senate, Heather Nauert, a 48-year-old former Fox News Channel reporter, will replace Nikki Haley. Nauert had little foreign policy experience before taking the podium as spokeswoman for the State Department.
Nauert’s confirmation could hinge on her performance at the hearing. Still, she stands a good chance of approval because after the new Congress begins in January, Republicans will have a 53-47 vote majority over Democrats in the Senate. In announcing his decision, Trump said Nauert was “very talented, very smart, very quick.” He said he thought she would be “respected by all.”
Others, including former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, criticized the choice. Nauert’s job as spokeswoman at State is “to read talking points and explain policy,” McFaul tweeted. The job of U.N. ambassador is very different, he said, and usually requires foreign policy or diplomatic expertise or both.
Trump backer Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., issued a statement praising Nauert, but his Republican colleagues who sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were silent.
“I’ve known Heather for many years. She is a fine and capable person,” Graham said, adding that she had the confidence of Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
If she gets the job, Nauert would take the post with less clout than Haley, a former South Carolina governor who announced in October that she would step down at the end of this year.
Trump is downgrading the ambassador’s position to a sub-Cabinet-level post. That means Nauert could be overshadowed by Pompeo or Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, who had the U.N. job in 2005 and 2006. She also would be going up against foreign counterparts like the U.N. representatives from Russia and China, who each have decades of experience in diplomacy.