Feb. 23 (UPI) — About two months after Nikki Haley left the post of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, President Donald Trump announced Friday night his nominee to replace Haley.
Kelly Knight Craft, who currently serves as the U.S. ambassador to Canada, will be Trump’s pick to fill the position, the president said on Twitter Friday evening.
“Kelly 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,” Trump said. “Congratulations to Kelly and her entire family!”
Craft has served as the ambassador to Canada since she was confirmed by the Senate in August 2017 and sworn in a month later.
Craft has held various leadership roles in philanthropic and business organizations in her native Kentucky, according to a bio page on the U.S. Embassy in Canada’s website. She also previously was a member of the University of Kentucky board of trustees and was an alternate delegate to the United Nations General Assembly during the George W. Bush administration, the page says.
Though she was never formally nominated, Trump’s previous pick to succeed Haley was State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. Nauert, a former Fox News personality, withdrew from consideration Saturday.
Haley, previously the governor of South Carolina, announced her planned departure in October. Her tenure leading the U.S. delegation to the United Nations was marked by a tough tack on Palestine. The U.S. cut funding to the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency and also voted against an annual resolution condemning the “occupation” by Israel of the Golan Heights.
In her farewell speech at the United Nations, Haley said the international organization is “hopelessly biased” against Israel.
“Congratulations to Kelly Craft,” Haley wrote Friday evening on Twitter. “She’s done a great job representing us as @USAmbCanada and we know she’ll be a strong voice for America at the United Nations.”
