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US-DIPLOMACY-NAUERT
Trump to pick State Dept spokeswoman Heather Nauert as UN envoy: reports
WASHINGTON, Dec 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump is set to
name State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as the next US ambassador to
the United Nations, according to multiple reports.
If confirmed by the Senate, she would take over from outgoing ambassador
Nikki Haley, who announced her resignation in October without offering
details on why.
Numerous reports in the US media — the first of which appeared in
Bloomberg news — said Nauert would be nominated Friday, citing sources close
to the matter.
Nauert, 48, has been touted for the post since November.
Trump told reporters last month the former Fox News anchor was “under very
serious consideration.”
He added: “She’s excellent, she’s been with us a long time, she’s been a
supporter for a long time, really — excellent.”
Nauert joined the State Department in April 2017.
She has served under two secretaries of state — Rex Tillerson and her
current boss Mike Pompeo — and was designated acting under-secretary for
public diplomacy and public affairs from March to October 2018.
Haley similarly had little foreign policy experience when appointed,
although she had a national name as the governor of South Carolina.
Nauert’s appointment would reinforce the link between Fox News and Trump,
who has been accused of turning to the conservative-leaning channel, rather
than experts, for policy advice.
BSS/AFP/MRI/0816 hrs