Trump picks Heather Nauert as UN ambassador

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump announced Friday he is nominating State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to succeed Nikki Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The former Fox News reporter became acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs earlier this year after first joining the State Department under the Trump administration in April 2017. Besides holding regular news briefings, Nauert oversaw public diplomacy in Washington and all overseas U.S. embassies and consulates. “She’s very talented, very smart, very quick, and I think she’s going to be respected by all,” the president said on Friday, adding, “She’s been a supporter for a long time.”

During her time at the State Department, Nauert reportedly participated in close to two dozen overseas trips under former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and current Secretary Mike Pompeo. She also has taken a number of solo trips, including traveling to Myanmar, also known as Burma, to understand the plight of the Rohingya Muslims.

In October, Haley announced she would step down at the end of this year. She is leaving on what appears to be good terms with the White House and said in a joint news conference with Trump that she would campaign for him in 2020 as a private citizen.

Nauert will next face Senate confirmation, where lawmakers are expected to grill her about her lack of foreign policy experience, concerns Haley also faced after she was nominated after serving as governor of South Carolina.