U. N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s abrupt announcement that she is resigning has raised fresh questions about President Donald Trump’s team.
The Latest on the resignation of U. N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (all times local):
6:35 p.m.
U. N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s abrupt announcement that she is resigning has raised fresh questions about President Donald Trump’s team.
The news has blindsided some key U. S. allies and many congressional Republicans involved in foreign policy matters.
It comes less than a month before congressional elections, thwarting White House efforts to project an image of stability. The loss of one of the highest-profile women in the administration comes at a time when women’s votes are being vigorously pursued.
Trump says he’s narrowed down a short list of five people to replace Haley. Former White House adviser Dina Powell is among those on the short list.
___
6:25 p.m.
Ivanka Trump says she won’t replace Nikki Haley as the U. S. ambassador to the United Nations despite her father, President Donald Trump, saying she’d be “incredible” in the role.
In a tweet Tuesday evening, the presidential senior adviser and elder daughter said her father will “nominate a formidable replacement for Ambassador Haley.”
She adds: “That replacement will not be me.”
Trump and Haley announced Tuesday that she will be departing the administration at the end of the year. The timing of the announcement was surprising, coming just weeks ahead of the midterm elections.
Trump told reporters that selecting his daughter would spark concerns about nepotism. But he also said there is no one more competent in the world for the role than Ivanka.
The post requires Senate confirmation.
___
5:05 p.m.
Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations says despite serious differences between Moscow and Washington on foreign policy, he has “good working and personal relations” with U. S. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Vassily Nebenzia told reporters at U. N. headquarters Tuesday that the announcement of Haley’s resignation “was a surprise — not a very pleasant one for me, personally.”
Nebenzia says Russia never loses hope about improving relations with the United States.
But Nebenzia says differences with the U. S. were evident in some of the “successes” Haley enumerated on Tuesday. For example, Moscow doesn’t consider the U. S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal a success.
As for Haley’s future, Nebenzia said, “She’s young, she’s energetic, she’s ambitious. I think we will see her after she has this well-deserved respite that she was referring to.”
___
4:25 p.m.
Nikki Haley’s fellow ambassadors on the U. N. Security Council are reacting with surprise to her resignation and warm personal words about their friendship with her — even though their country may have serious policy differences with the Trump administration.
France’s U. N. Ambassador Francois Delattre first met Haley when she was governor of South Carolina. He calls her “one of the most talented, most authentic U. S. government officials that I have ever met.”
Sweden’s U. N. Ambassador Olof Skoog says even “where we don’t always see eye to eye… there has always been a very close relationship. I’m going to miss her a lot.”
Bolivia’s U. N. Ambassador Sasha Llorentty Soliz says the 15-member Security Council “is like a family — sometimes a dysfunctional family, but nevertheless we care about each other and I really like Nikki very much.”
He adds, “we are very, very much against the U. S. policies in many, many fields,” including the Mideast, the U. S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, and the Paris climate change agreement.
___
4:05 p.m.
President Donald Trump says former aide Dina Powell is under consideration to replace departing U. N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Trump told reporters Tuesday that he has heard his daughter Ivanka Trump’s name discussed for the post. He says she’d be “incredible” in the role, but he knows if he selected her he’d be accused of nepotism.
Powell served as deputy national security adviser to Trump for most of his first year in the White House, departing in mid-January. She previously worked for Goldman Sachs and served in President George W. Bush’s administration.
Trump and Haley announced Tuesday that she will be departing the administration at the end of the year. The timing of the announcement was surprising, coming just weeks ahead of the midterm elections.
___
3:35 p.m.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the nation “benefited greatly” from Nikki Haley’s leadership as ambassador to the U. N.
McConnell opened the Senate on Tuesday thanking Haley for her service. The GOP leader called her a “skillful advocate” for the nation’s interests and a “forceful spokeswoman” for its principles.
Earlier, Haley and President Donald Trump announced at the White House that she would be stepping down at the end of the year.
The Senate voted overwhelmingly to confirm Haley as U. N. ambassador in 2017. She is a former governor of South Carolina.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker of Tennessee called her a “fierce advocate for U. S. interests.”
___
1:35 p.m.
The United Nations says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expressing “deep appreciation for the excellent cooperation and support” from U. S. Ambassador Nikki Haley — despite major policy differences on issues including climate change and Palestinian refugees.
U. N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric tells reporters at U. N. headquarters that the U. N.-U. S. relationship, and the relationship between the secretary-general and the U. S. ambassador, is “very critical.”
He says Guterres and Haley had “a very productive and strong working relationship” and “worked hard to promote constructive ties between the United Nations and the United States.”
He adds, the U. N.’s differences with the Trump administration “are open and for all to see.”
___
12:35 p.m.
The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations committee says Nikki Haley’s resignation as United Nations ambassador is “yet another sign of the Trump administration’s chaotic foreign policy.”
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez says in a statement he’s “deeply concerned about the leadership vacuum” that will be created by Haley’s departure.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced Haley will be leaving the administration at the end of the year. Trump says Haley told him six months ago she might want to take some time off.
