President-elect Donald Trump has chosen South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, a daughter of immigrants from India who has little international experience, to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, The Post and Courier newspaper and other media reported on Wednesday.

The 44-year-old governor has accepted the offer, the Charleston, South Carolina, newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.

The choice of Haley, who embraces tolerance, may be aimed at offsetting Trump's divisive comments about immigrants and minorities, as well as accusations of sexism during his campaign for the Nov. 8 election in which he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Haley, who last year signed a bill to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol, condemned Trump during the Republican presidential primary campaign for not speaking out more forcefully against white supremacists. The Civil War flag, an emblem of the American South, is long associated with slavery.

Haley supported Trump rivals in the primary before saying last month she would vote for Trump despite reservations about his character. Trump, a Republican, is due to succeed President Barack Obama, a Democrat, on Jan. 20. </s> Nikki Haley, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations looks on during a meeting with US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval office of the White House October 9, 2018 in Washington, DC. - Nikki Haley resigned Tuesday as the US ambassador to the United Nations, in the latest departure from President Donald Trump's national security team. Meeting Haley in the Oval Office, Trump said that Haley had done a "fantastic job" and would leave at the end of the year. (credit: OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP/Getty Images)

DENVER (CBS4)– Some of Colorado’s Republican congressmen are reacting to United Nation’s Ambassador Nikky Haley’s resignation on Tuesday morning.

“I have given everything I’ve got these last eight years,” she said, referring to her six years as South Carolina governor as well as her time at the U.N. “And I do think it’s good to rotate in other people who can put that same energy and power into it.”

Haley made the announcement with Pres. Donald Trump by her side. Her resignation blindsided many administration officials and stirring speculation in the White House and beyond about the timing and reasons for the latest Trump shake-up just weeks before the November midterm elections.

Sen. Cory Gardner tweeted that “Because of @nikkihaley’s leadership, the United States has a powerful voice again at the United Nations. She’s been an incredible partner to work closely with on carrying out the Administration’s maximum pressure doctrine on North Korea.”

Rep. Doug Lamborn tweeted “Thank you Ambassador @nikkihaley for your incredible leadership. You’ve done tremendous work representing America at the United Nations!” </s> WASHINGTON—U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is resigning at the end of 2018, President Trump said on Tuesday.

At the Oval Office, the president said Ms. Haley had told him six months ago she would leave at the end of the year. The president called her “fantastic.”

Ms. Haley, the former Republican governor of South Carolina,... </s> United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Incoming UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will take the oath of office on Monday, hoping to show he is primed for action despite anxiety over the US role in the world under unpredictable Donald Trump.

During a formal ceremony at the General Assembly, Guterres will be sworn in before outlining in an address to all 193 UN member-states his plans to confront global crises and reform the 71-year-old United Nations.

The first former head of government at the UN helm, Guterres will take over from Ban Ki-moon on January 1, just weeks before President-elect Trump moves into the White House.

The choice of the former refugee chief as the ninth secretary-general energized many diplomats who see Guterres as a skilled politician, able to overcome divisions that have crippled the United Nations, notably over Syria.

The 67-year-old former prime minister of Portugal has put ending the five-year carnage in Syria at the top of his to-do list and is keen to put forward a new plan to achieve a settlement, diplomats say.

Trump's election however is complicating that strategy.

"This is tough for Guterres," said Richard Gowan, a UN expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations. "He enjoyed a wave of diplomatic goodwill at the UN and looked set for a straightforward transition."

"Now he will find it hard to propose big institutional reforms or float new political initiatives until the Trump team is settled in and made its intentions clear."

Trump's victory has put a question mark over the Paris climate deal championed by Ban during his 10 years at the UN helm and stirred unease over the prospect of a new-style diplomatic dealmaking from the White House that could sideline the United Nations.

- Getting the US on board -

Trump has not made any statements about his view of the United Nations or multilateralism since his election, but his choice of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as US ambassador was seen in some circles as a positive signal.

While Haley has no foreign policy experience, she has been a player in negotiating trade deals for her state and earned respect in foreign circles for taking a stand against racism by pulling the Confederate flag from the state capitol.

The key to getting the new Trump administration on board may lie in Guterres' plans for reforming the world body to "turn it into something the US can support," said a Security Council diplomat.

He will have to show that "he is shaking up the system enough in order to really make it effective, slimming it down in some places, realigning it in others, in a very pro-active way," said the diplomat, who asked not to be named.

The United States is by far the biggest financial contributor, providing 22 percent of the UN's operating budget and funding 28 percent of peacekeeping missions which currently cost $8 billion annually.

Over the past months, Guterres has toured the capitals of the powerful five permanent Security Council members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - for talks on his new tenure.

"He will be a political secretary-general," said a Security Council diplomat, who was briefed on Guterres' plans. "He plans to put saving lives - peace and security issues - definitely at the center."

Guterres may on Monday announce the appointment of the deputy secretary-general and of his chief of staff - two powerful posts in the new leadership team.

Nigeria's Environment Minister Amina Mohammed is tipped to be the UN's new number two while the chief of staff post is also expected to be filled by a woman, in line with Guterres' pledge to push gender equality at the United Nations.

Over the coming months, he will make a series of appointments to head the departments of peacekeeping, political affairs and management among others, with the five council powers pushing candidacies from their countries for the plum insider jobs. </s> Washington: Nikki Haley, the Indian-American US Ambassador to the United Nations, resigned Tuesday, according to multiple US media reports. President Donald Trump has accepted 46-year-old Haley’s resignation as UN ambassador, Fox News reported. The reason behind her resignation was not clear. Haley was the senior most Indian-American official in the Trump administration. The former governor of South Carolina was confirmed as UN Ambassador four days after Trump was inaugurated in January 2017. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted that President Trump and Ambassador Haley will meet in the Oval Office Tuesday morning. </s> U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has called on Americans to “speak with one voice and one heart” after a long and bruising political campaign.

Trump’s plea was made in a video posted on YouTube after he announced the selection Wednesday of two more Cabinet officials on Wednesday.

The officials are South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley who was appointed as ambassador to the United Nations and Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos who would work as secretary of Education.

“It is my prayer, that on this Thanksgiving, we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country, strengthened by a shared purpose and very, very common resolve..

“We have just finished a long and bruising political campaign; emotions are raw and tensions just don’t heal overnight.

“It doesn’t go quickly, unfortunately, but we have before us the chance now to make history together to bring real change to Washington, real safety to our cities, and real prosperity to our communities, including our inner cities.

“This is so important to me and to our country. But to succeed, we must enlist the effort of our entire nation,” Trump said.

Donald Trump began to broaden the base of his future cabinet Wednesday, nominating two conservative women including a critic, after his earlier picks rewarded campaign loyalists.

Trump’s nomination of South Carolina’s 44-year-old governor, Nikki Haley, as US ambassador to the United Nations will be seen as a sign he is ready to forgive some foes to raise a bigger tent.

But his choice of wealthy activist Betsy DeVos, a champion of alternatives to local government schools, as education secretary, was another victory for social conservatives.

Trump’s one-time presidential rival, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, appeared to be next in line for the nod — reportedly as housing secretary — after he posted on social media that an announcement was imminent.

Trump’s choice of Haley for the UN was announced amid reports that Trump is considering another vocal critic — former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney — for the key post of secretary of state.

And it followed a cordial chat between Trump and The New York Times, a newspaper he considers hostile, in which he softened his stance on climate change, torture and prosecuting his defeated rival Hillary Clinton.

The 70-year-old property tycoon also told the Times that he is “seriously, seriously considering” appointing widely respected retired Marine general James Mattis as his defense secretary.

The UN ambassador post is of cabinet rank and if Haley — a staunch conservative with no foreign policy experience — is confirmed by the Senate she will become a powerful figure in world diplomacy, despite previously clashing with Trump.

As one of two women tapped so far for Trump’s cabinet, the daughter of Indian immigrants also injects a measure of diversity in a group that until now consisted solely of men.

Last year, after a white supremacist murdered nine black churchgoers in South Carolina, Haley supported a decision by legislators to remove the Confederate flag from the state house.

The decision drew protests from racist groups. This year, while campaigning for Trump’s primary rival Marco Rubio, Haley called Trump out for his failure to repudiate the Ku Klux Klan.

“I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party. That is not who we are,” she declared.

Trump, true to form, responded with one of his trademark Twitter insults, declaring: “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!”

Trump’s choice last week of the self-described “economic nationalist” Steve Bannon, head of the right-wing news platform Breitbart, as his chief strategist delighted white supremacists.

But on Tuesday, after video emerged of fans of the so-called alt-right making straight-armed salutes and chanting “Hail Trump,” the president-elect disavowed the movement.

As he works with his advisers in his luxury Mar-a-Lago golf resort outside Palm Beach, all eyes will be on the appointments he makes for a sign of the direction his administration will take.

 

 When it comes to security threats and global issues, the president-elect has reportedly received just two classified intelligence briefings since winning the presidency, far less than his immediate predecessors, according to the Washington Post newspaper.

The Republican’s limited engagement with his team of intelligence analysts has some officials questioning the real estate mogul’s commitment to national security or international affairs, arenas in which he has no significant experience.

When Trump’s November 8 election victory still seemed an unlikely prospect, many Republicans and conservative policy experts condemned his anti-Muslim rhetoric, his affinity for Russia or his isolationist and protectionist positions.

Many of these figures are now moderating their tone and looking for work, whether they are lured by the prospect of a powerful job or are keen to serve US interests as a moderating influence inside a Trump administration.

The former Iraq and Afghan war commander, retired general David Petraeus — who resigned as head of the CIA after he was caught sharing classified data with his mistress — made his pitch on Wednesday.

“If you’re asked, you’ve got to serve, put aside any reservations based on campaign rhetoric, and figure out what’s best for the country,” he told BBC Radio.

In May, Petraeus described hardline rhetoric like Trump’s threat to ban all Muslims from traveling to the United States as “toxic” and “corrosive to our vital national security interests.”

This week a Trump aide was photographed carrying notes on a border security plan into Trump Tower. The first three points were legible in the picture, and pointed to stringent vetting for Muslim visa applicants.

Trump and his family will stay at Mar-a-Lago through Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday and the weekend. More meetings will be held on Monday with transition officials, his press office said.

Meanwhile, erstwhile Democratic candidate Clinton — who lost to Trump by carrying a minority of the electoral college which decides the election outcome — saw her national lead in the popular vote tally pass two million votes. </s> Haley will step down at the end of the year, Trump said during a Tuesday morning meeting with the ambassador in the Oval Office. She had told him six months ago that she wanted to leave after serving two years in the role, the president said.

“Nikki Haley, ambassador to the United Nations, has been very special to me,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “She’s a fantastic person, very importantly, but she is also somebody who gets it.”

Trump said Tuesday that Haley has “done an incredible job” as ambassador, adding that he would be happy to have her back in any capacity.

Haley was confirmed as U.N. ambassador in January 2017. Previously, she was the governor of South Carolina. Haley had been an early critic of Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, calling him “everything a governor doesn’t want in a president” in February 2016. Trump had publicly fired back at her jabs, tweeting in March 2016 that “the people of South Carolina are embarrassed” by her.

Trump’s decision to appoint Haley to head the U.S. envoy to the U.N. was widely viewed as an olive branch to some of Trump’s conservative critics. She has helped the Trump administration navigate some of its most controversial foreign policy endeavors related to North Korea and Russia.

Haley said Tuesday that she was a “lucky girl” to have been able to serve as South Carolina’s governor and as U.N. ambassador.

“It has been an honor of a lifetime,” she said in the Oval Office. “Look at what has happened in two years with the United States on foreign policy. Now, the United States is respected. Countries may not like what we do, but they respect what we do.”

Nikki Haley on her resignation: "I don't have anything set on where I'm going to go."



"It's been eight years of intense time and I'm a believer in term limits," she adds. "I think you have to be selfless enough to know when you step aside" https://t.co/fHGX05uoby pic.twitter.com/HpEUzzX761 — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 9, 2018

Last month, Haley drew backlash online after claiming world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly had laughed at Trump because they “respect” his “honesty” ― not because they disagreed when he proclaimed his administration to be one of the most accomplished in U.S. history.

Haley’s seemingly abrupt resignation prompted speculation that she may be considering a 2020 presidential bid, though she squashed those rumors Tuesday, stating she plans to campaign for Trump’s re-election. Haley’s replacement will be named within a few weeks, Trump said Tuesday.

“Nikki Haley has a very bright future and will be a key player in both the future of the Republican Party and our nation as a whole for years to come,” Graham tweeted.

.@nikkihaley was a strong voice for the U.S. & for moral clarity at the U.N. America was blessed to have her representing us. We thank her & her family for their service to our country & the cause of freedom & #HumanRights. pic.twitter.com/Ob43lGEixY — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 9, 2018 </s> WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has selected a charter school advocate and GOP donor from Michigan to be education secretary.

Betsy DeVos becomes the second woman chosen to fill a spot in Trump's Cabinet. Earlier Wednesday, Trump named South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations earlier in the day.

[INTERACTIVE: Donald Trump timeline + full list of appointments so far]

DeVos heads the advocacy group American Federation for Children. She's known for supporting charter schools and vouchers.

Before Trump's announcement, some conservatives were complaining about DeVos' ties to the political establishment. They also warned that she previously supported Common Core standards that Trump railed against during the campaign.

The 58-year-old DeVos is a former Michigan Republican Party chairwoman. Her husband, Dick, is an heir to the Amway fortune and a former company president. </s> WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump planned to discuss the resignation of UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday, an unexpected departure for one of the president’s longest-serving top aides, two sources said.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was confirmed just days after Trump’s inauguration, was expected to announce her resignation during a hastily scheduled meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.

Initially a critic of Trump, Haley helped shepherd in the administration’s tougher stance at the United Nations, including Trump's decision to leave the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year. She is also among the most prominent women in Trump's cabinet.

Haley, widely considered a possible candidate for higher office, also sometimes broke ranks with Trump. In the days leading up to this year’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, Haley indicated Trump’s speech before the Security Council would be focused on Iran. White House officials later dismissed that idea, saying the address would focus on controlling weapons of mass destruction.

More: Nikki Haley: World leaders laughed at Trump because they love his honesty

More: Trump's tough line on Iran could rankle world leaders at UN General Assembly

The daughter of immigrants from India, Haley was a South Carolina legislator who rode a wave of Tea Party support to win the governor's race in 2010.

She won re-election in 2014, but cut her second term short to join Trump's diplomatic team. Republicans in South Carolina, a key state for Trump in the 2016 GOP primaries, urged Trump to recruit Haley, who was also discussed for the secretary of State slot.

There has been friction between Haley and Trump.

In April, White House aides criticized Haley for getting ahead of the administration in announcing Russia sanctions; Haley, meanwhile, bristled at aide Larry Kudlow's suggestion that the UN amassador had "momentary confusion" over the issue.

"With all due respect, I don't get confused," Haley replied in a statement.

Haley also had to take the unusual step of denying in public that she had an affair with Trump. </s> WASHINGTON – UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is stepping down at the end of the year, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday as Haley sat by his side in the Oval Office.

Trump praised the work of the former governor of South Carolina, who was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations shortly after Trump’s inauguration last year.

“She’s done a fantastic job, and we’ve done a fantastic job together,” Trump said, adding that Haley has been “very special to me.”

Trump said Haley first told him about six months ago that she would like to “take a little time off” at the end of this year. Nevertheless, the announcement surprised many in the Trump administration.

In her resignation letter, Haley praised the president for keeping a commitment to her that she would be “free to speak my mind on the issues of the day.”

Haley listed what she called a series of successes at the United Nations, including that “we spoke out resolutely against dictatorships in Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, and yes, Russia.”

Haley told the president that her resignation would be effective in January 2019 to “give you time to select a replacement and to give the Senate time to consider your selection.”

“I expect to continue to speak out from time to time on important public policy matters, but I will surely not be a candidate for any office in 2020.”

Haley, seen in South Carolina and Washington circles as sharp-elbowed and ambitious, had taken particular pride in keeping distance from the daily drama of the White House.

Some of Trump’s political advisers have viewed her warily as a potential threat in 2020 and a skeptic of the Trump agenda, spurring her to say in her resignation announcement that she would not be running for office.

She was frustrated to be left out of some key debates earlier this year, administration officials said, and was not seen as part of Trump’s inner circle.

Trump told reporters that he is hopeful that Haley will return to the administration at some point, perhaps in a different capacity.

Speaking after him, Haley said serving as UN ambassador has been “an honor of a lifetime.”

“I’m such a lucky girl to have been able to lead the state that raised me and to serve a country I love so very much has really been a blessing, and I want to thank you for that,” she told Trump.

Trump said he hopes to name a successor to Haley in the next two to three weeks.

“We have a number of people who would like to do it,” Trump said, adding that the position has become “more glamorous” in the time it was held by Haley.

Tuesday’s announcement prompted widespread praise of Haley’s tenure from fellow Republicans, but some lawmakers expressed concerns about the timing.

Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the White House to immediately name a successor.

“Today’s announcement that Ambassador Haley is resigning is yet another sign of the Trump Administration’s chaotic foreign policy,” he said in a statement. ” I am deeply concerned about the leadership vacuum she leaves and the national security impact of her departure at this time of continued disarray for this Administration.”

From the beginning of her tenure, Haley stood out as a fierce advocate of Trump administration policies, announcing the United States would be “taking names” of countries that did not support U.S. votes.

She spoke often of the need for change within the UN and its peacekeeping forces, and frequently chastised UN agencies for taking anti-Israel stances. She pushed for Security Council resolutions imposing greater sanctions on North Korea, and chastised members who the administration suspected had been cheating.

“She was critical in ushering in UN reforms in partnership with the secretary general, and she took a thoughtful approach to peacekeeping and national security issues,” said Peter Yeo, an official with the UN Foundation. “There certainly were great areas of contention between the United States and the UN But she played a very important and constructive role.”

Though Haley advanced Trump’s policies, she occasionally made public statements at odds with the White House and the president she served.

In December, she said that women who had accused Trump of sexual misconduct “should be heard.” When a White House adviser said Haley had been confused in prematurely announcing more sanctions against Russia, she said simply, “With all due respect, I don’t get confused.”

Haley’s ability to speak eloquently and forcefully on contentious issues fueled much speculation that she has political ambitions beyond the UN, possibly including a White House run. But Haley constantly denied it, saying she hadn’t given any thought to a presidential run.

On her very first day as ambassador, Haley promised a “new day” under Trump’s America First policy. Initially seen as inexperienced in foreign policy, she soon was taken seriously by her fellow UN diplomats as she pushed through three sets of sanctions against North Korea and persuaded China and Russia, both allies of Pyongyang, to agree to abide by them.

She became known for being a hawk on Iran and its regional aggression, a strong advocate of Israel and, working together with Secretary General António Guterres, a force for cost-cutting.

On policy issues, Haley’s influence at UN was blunted by a slew of recent Trump policy decisions that many other nations opposed, including recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, cutting aid to Palestinians and announcing a U.S. withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council.

Haley had an increasingly diminished role in the Trump Cabinet as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo filled the vacuum left by his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, whose camera-shy demeanor had allowed Haley to be the voice of U.S. foreign policy in the first year of the Trump administration.

The hiring of national security adviser John Bolton in March, a former UN ambassador with hardened views on its limited value, further limited her latitude in New York. At the same time, Haley lost on key policy debates, including a further reduction in the number of refugees who can be resettled in the United States.

On Monday, a watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, asked the State Department’s inspector general to investigate the ethics of Haley accepting seven flights for herself and her husband on private planes owned by three South Carolina businessmen.

The group said the flights were between New York, Washington and three cities in South Carolina. Haley reported the flights on her 2017 public financial disclosure statement, saying the donors all were personal friends, and therefore exempt from federal rules on accepting such flights.

A Quinnipiac poll in April found that Haley had the highest approval ratings of five Trump Cabinet members tested and was the only Cabinet member to hold majority approval among Democrats, Republicans and independents.

Overall, 63 per cent approved and 17 per cent disapproved of her performance as UN ambassador.
President-elect Donald Trump names South Carolina governor Nikki Haley as United States Ambassador to the United Nations.