Nikki Haley Chosen as UN Ambassador

Donald Trump has selected South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. 

The planned nomination to the cabinet-level post, confirmed by multiple sources with knowledge of the decision, is likely to raise questions about Haley’s qualifications for a major foreign policy role since she has little diplomatic experience as state lawmaker and governor.

Haley's chief foreign work centers on negotiating with international companies seeking economic development deals in the state and leading seven overseas trade missions as governor. Her husband, Michael, was deployed for nearly a year in Afghanistan with the S.C. National Guard in 2013.

The Trump administration is likely banking on Haley's strong communication and problem-solving skills in being the U.S. representative at the 193-member United Nations in New York. The governor won praise for her calm handling of the racially-charged Charleston church shooting and historic flood that took place just less than four months apart last year. After the shooting, she persuaded lawmakers to remove the Confederate battle flag that had flown on the Statehouse grounds for more than 50 years.

Haley would need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. She would succeed Samantha Power, who worked on the National Security Council under President Barack Obama before becoming UN ambassador in 2013.

 

Nikki Haley, 44, has accepted Donald Trump's offer to be his ambassador to the United Nations, a source familiar with the president-elect's transition process confirmed today.

She is the first woman in the state's history to hold the role and only the nation's second Asian-American governor. The daughter of immigrants from India, Haley served three terms in South Carolina's State House before winning the governorship in 2010 and again in 2014. Haley's limited foreign policy experience is likely to draw scrutiny during Senate confirmation hearings for the Cabinet-level position.