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Editorial

Heather after Haley?

Has President Donald Trump zeroed in on the new US Ambassador to the UN? Going by what he has told advisers that Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, is his leading choice to succeed Haley, it would certainly seem so. If named, Nauert would leave her role at the State Department to take over the new assignment. People close to the President have cautioned that his pick is not final until it is formally announced. The White House declined to comment on the matter but Trump confirmed that Nauert is "under very serious consideration" to become the next US ambassador to the UN. "She's excellent. She's been with us a long time. She's been a supporter. And she's really excellent," Trump said. "We'll probably make a decision next week," Trump said in his remarks. Adding, "We have a lot of people that want the job and they're a lot of really great people." Trump has eyed several people to replace Haley, including Ric Grennell, the US ambassador to Germany; Jamie McCourt, the US envoy in Paris; and Kelly Craft, the ambassador in Canada. Nauert, who came to the government from Fox News, served as the State Department spokesman for both Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo but has enjoyed a closer relationship with Trump's second secretary of state than she did with Tillerson, who was privately sceptical of her close ties with the West Wing. Her elevation to a top diplomatic role underscores the importance Trump has placed on having his top aides also serve as television surrogates. But, as a diplomat, she lacks experience. Previous holders of the UN ambassador position, including current national security adviser John Bolton, came to the role with years of foreign policy experience. Nauert served briefly as Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy from March until October. She would face what could be a contentious confirmation hearing, with Democrats quizzing her on her qualifications for the post. Instead, Nauert comes with something perhaps more valuable in the Trump administration: loyalty and a willingness to defend the President. The UN ambassador role is viewed by some as a launching point for higher-profile positions. Both Bolton and Susan Rice, who served in the post under President Barack Obama, eventually became White House national security advisers. The position is based in New York, so it is also viewed as having less direct oversight than a high-level post in Washington. Nauert's move to the United Nations would take her out of the running for other roles in the West Wing, which has struggled at times to fill key positions and gone without a communications director for months. However, notwithstanding Trump's unpredictability, Heather Nauert is set to succeed Haley as US Ambassador to the UN.

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