Online
\nWashington
\nPresident Donald Trump said he was nominating Kelly Craft, currently the US ambassador to Canada, to replace Nikki Haley as his envoy to the United Nations after a four-month search.
\nCraft, a top Republican donor from Kentucky, rose this week as a serious contender for the post based on a recommendation by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a fellow Kentuckian.
\nCraft will not hold a Cabinet-level position, as Haley did, a senior White House official said, after Trump decided to downgrade the post. Regardless, she will need to be confirmed by the US Senate.
\n\u201cKelly has done an outstanding job representing our Nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our Country will be represented at the highest level,\u201d Trump said in a tweet announcing his decision.
\nSecretary of State Mike Pompeo called Craft \u201cextremely well-qualified\u201d and an \u201coutstanding advocate for America\u2019s national security and economic interests in Canada.\u201d
\nCraft met with Trump, Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton in the Oval Office on Friday, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.
\nShe was seen as a tough negotiator in a new U.S. trade deal with Canada and Mexico and as ambassador to Canada established decent working relationships with both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, the source said.
\nIf confirmed, Craft will have the difficult job of defending Trump\u2019s \u201cAmerica First\u201d foreign policy and navigating Trump\u2019s criticism of the world body while getting global diplomats to back U.S. policies.
\nFrench UN Ambassador Francois Delattre said he looked forward to working with Craft if she was confirmed by the Senate.
\n\u201cI hope that Ms Craft will continue, like Nikki Haley, to be a bridge between Washington, DC and the UN at a time when we more than ever need an America that is engaged with the UN in world affairs and committed to our shared values, beginning with human rights,\u201d Delattre said.
\nHaley, a rising Republican star who resigned in October and left in late 2018, was seen by her counterparts at the United Nations as a voice of clarity in a US administration that often gave off mixed signals on foreign policy, diplomats said.
\nCraft will face a variety of challenges, including championing US efforts to contain Iran\u2019s influence in the Middle East and ensuring the global body maintains tough sanctions on North Korea as Washington tries to negotiate an end to Pyongyang\u2019s nuclear and missile programs.
\nThe United States has also gone to the United Nations in recent weeks to seek international recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela\u2019s legitimate president over socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.
\nCraft was Trump\u2019s second choice for the UN position. He had planned to nominate former State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, but she withdrew her name from consideration last week for family reasons.
\nA person familiar with the matter told Reuters Nauert withdrew from consideration because she had a nanny who was in the United States legally but did not have the proper work visa. Nauert did not comment.
\nHaving been confirmed by the Senate for the Canada post, Craft should have a smoother confirmation path and less problems with vetting, the source said.
\nTrump had also considered other candidates including U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell and Republican John James, who lost a bid for a US Senate seat in Michigan last November.
\nFormer senior White House aide Dina Powell was also on Trump\u2019s radar, but she was believed to be disinterested in the position after she returned to Goldman Sachs Group a year ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Online Washington President Donald Trump said he was nominating Kelly Craft, currently the US ambassador to Canada, to replace Nikki Haley as his envoy to the United Nations after a four-month search. Craft, a top Republican donor from Kentucky, rose this week as a serious contender for the post based on a recommendation by Senate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-52137","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n