President-elect Donald Trump named rising Republican star Gov. Nikki Haley as his pick for United Nations ambassador, and she accepted the nomination on Nov. 23. If confirmed by the Senate, she will step down as governor of South Carolina on Jan. 20, 2017, and take her place representing the U.S. on the U.N. Security Council.
“Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country,” Trump said. “She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage.”
Haley has already had a historic career. In addition to being the first female and first Indian-American governor of South Carolina, she is the youngest serving governor in the U.S. at 44. She gained national prominence after calling for the removal of the Confederate flag from the S.C. Statehouse following the Emmanuel A.M.E. shooting in Charleston and for her handling of the historic floods in October 2015.
In January, she gave the GOP response to President Barack Obama’s last State of the Union address, where she said, “No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.” She also criticized Trump’s refusal to denounce the Ku Klux Klan.
While Haley has visited seven countries promoting investment in South Carolina, many of her positions on foreign issues are unknown, and this will be her first experience in the federal government. She has expressed support for greater enforcement of immigration laws and favors free markets and global trade.
“My very practical reaction is that she’d be the least experienced U.N. ambassador in the history of the country,” said Bakari Sellers, a Democratic CNN commentator who served in the S.C. House of representatives with Haley.
Current U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power began her career as a foreign correspondent and went on to win a Pulitzer prize for a book on genocide, teach courses at Harvard on U.S. foreign policy and work in the White House focusing on issues such as U.N. reform and human rights.
Trump has faced mixed responses for his cabinet appointments. Haley brings diversity to a largely white, male group including Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions and retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn. Haley, who supported Marco Rubio during his campaign, could provide a more moderate Republican viewpoint to a still unknown administration.
Taking Haley’s place in the Governor’s Mansion will be Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster, who lost the Republican primary for the governorship in 2010 to Haley. McMaster was an early vocal supporter of Trump and is also known for his opposition to the Affordable Care Act.
"When the president believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation's standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed," Haley said when accepting the offer.