ABOVE: Heather Nauert has withdrawn her name from consideration to succeed Nikki Haley as the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. (Photo courtesy of the State Department)
The State Department on Feb. 16 announced spokesperson Heather Nauert has withdrawn her name from consideration to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
“I am grateful to President Trump and Secretary Pompeo for the trust they placed in me for considering me for the position of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” said Nauert in a statement that deputy State Department spokesperson Robert Palladino released. “However, the past two months have been grueling for my family and therefore it is in the best interest of my family that I withdraw my name from consideration.”
“Serving in the administration for the past two years has been one of the highest honors of my life and I will always be grateful to the president, the secretary, and my colleagues at the State Department for their support,” added Nauert.
Nauert, a former Fox News reporter, has been with the State Department since 2017.
She has publicly condemned the anti-LGBTI crackdown in Chechnya. Nauert has also promoted Spirit Day, a campaign that seeks to combat bullying.
Trump in December announced he would nominate Nauert to succeed Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina who had been the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. since 2017.
The Washington Post reported Nauert a decade ago hired a nanny who had not obtained a visa that allowed her to legally work in the U.S. Nauert also reportedly didn’t pay taxes for the nanny on time.
“Heather Nauert has performed her duties as a senior member of my team with unequalled excellence,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the State Department statement. “Her personal decision today to withdraw her name from consideration to become the nominee for United States Ambassador to the United Nations is a decision for which I have great respect. I wish Heather nothing but the best in all of her future endeavors and know that she will continue to be a great representative of this nation in whatever role she finds herself.”
The statement says Trump will “make an announcement with respect to a nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations soon.” Reports indicate Richard Grenell, the openly gay U.S. ambassador to Germany, is among those who are under consideration to succeed Haley.
