Washington: Nikki Haley, the Indian-American US Ambassador to the United Nations, resigned Tuesday, according to multiple US media reports. President Donald Trump has accepted 46-year-old Haley’s resignation as UN ambassador, Fox News reported. The reason behind her resignation was not clear. Haley was the senior most Indian-American official in the Trump administration. The former governor of South Carolina was confirmed as UN Ambassador four days after Trump was inaugurated in January 2017. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted that President Trump and Ambassador Haley will meet in the Oval Office Tuesday morning.</s>WASHINGTON – UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is stepping down at the end of the year, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday as Haley sat by his side in the Oval Office.

Trump praised the work of the former governor of South Carolina, who was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations shortly after Trump’s inauguration last year.

“She’s done a fantastic job, and we’ve done a fantastic job together,” Trump said, adding that Haley has been “very special to me.”

Trump said Haley first told him about six months ago that she would like to “take a little time off” at the end of this year. Nevertheless, the announcement surprised many in the Trump administration.

In her resignation letter, Haley praised the president for keeping a commitment to her that she would be “free to speak my mind on the issues of the day.”

Haley listed what she called a series of successes at the United Nations, including that “we spoke out resolutely against dictatorships in Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, and yes, Russia.”

Haley told the president that her resignation would be effective in January 2019 to “give you time to select a replacement and to give the Senate time to consider your selection.”

“I expect to continue to speak out from time to time on important public policy matters, but I will surely not be a candidate for any office in 2020.”

Haley, seen in South Carolina and Washington circles as sharp-elbowed and ambitious, had taken particular pride in keeping distance from the daily drama of the White House.

Some of Trump’s political advisers have viewed her warily as a potential threat in 2020 and a skeptic of the Trump agenda, spurring her to say in her resignation announcement that she would not be running for office.

She was frustrated to be left out of some key debates earlier this year, administration officials said, and was not seen as part of Trump’s inner circle.

Trump told reporters that he is hopeful that Haley will return to the administration at some point, perhaps in a different capacity.

Speaking after him, Haley said serving as UN ambassador has been “an honor of a lifetime.”

“I’m such a lucky girl to have been able to lead the state that raised me and to serve a country I love so very much has really been a blessing, and I want to thank you for that,” she told Trump.

Trump said he hopes to name a successor to Haley in the next two to three weeks.

“We have a number of people who would like to do it,” Trump said, adding that the position has become “more glamorous” in the time it was held by Haley.

Tuesday’s announcement prompted widespread praise of Haley’s tenure from fellow Republicans, but some lawmakers expressed concerns about the timing.

Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the White House to immediately name a successor.

“Today’s announcement that Ambassador Haley is resigning is yet another sign of the Trump Administration’s chaotic foreign policy,” he said in a statement. ” I am deeply concerned about the leadership vacuum she leaves and the national security impact of her departure at this time of continued disarray for this Administration.”

From the beginning of her tenure, Haley stood out as a fierce advocate of Trump administration policies, announcing the United States would be “taking names” of countries that did not support U.S. votes.

She spoke often of the need for change within the UN and its peacekeeping forces, and frequently chastised UN agencies for taking anti-Israel stances. She pushed for Security Council resolutions imposing greater sanctions on North Korea, and chastised members who the administration suspected had been cheating.

“She was critical in ushering in UN reforms in partnership with the secretary general, and she took a thoughtful approach to peacekeeping and national security issues,” said Peter Yeo, an official with the UN Foundation. “There certainly were great areas of contention between the United States and the UN But she played a very important and constructive role.”

Though Haley advanced Trump’s policies, she occasionally made public statements at odds with the White House and the president she served.

In December, she said that women who had accused Trump of sexual misconduct “should be heard.” When a White House adviser said Haley had been confused in prematurely announcing more sanctions against Russia, she said simply, “With all due respect, I don’t get confused.”

Haley’s ability to speak eloquently and forcefully on contentious issues fueled much speculation that she has political ambitions beyond the UN, possibly including a White House run. But Haley constantly denied it, saying she hadn’t given any thought to a presidential run.

On her very first day as ambassador, Haley promised a “new day” under Trump’s America First policy. Initially seen as inexperienced in foreign policy, she soon was taken seriously by her fellow UN diplomats as she pushed through three sets of sanctions against North Korea and persuaded China and Russia, both allies of Pyongyang, to agree to abide by them.

She became known for being a hawk on Iran and its regional aggression, a strong advocate of Israel and, working together with Secretary General António Guterres, a force for cost-cutting.

On policy issues, Haley’s influence at UN was blunted by a slew of recent Trump policy decisions that many other nations opposed, including recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, cutting aid to Palestinians and announcing a U.S. withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council.

Haley had an increasingly diminished role in the Trump Cabinet as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo filled the vacuum left by his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, whose camera-shy demeanor had allowed Haley to be the voice of U.S. foreign policy in the first year of the Trump administration.

The hiring of national security adviser John Bolton in March, a former UN ambassador with hardened views on its limited value, further limited her latitude in New York. At the same time, Haley lost on key policy debates, including a further reduction in the number of refugees who can be resettled in the United States.

On Monday, a watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, asked the State Department’s inspector general to investigate the ethics of Haley accepting seven flights for herself and her husband on private planes owned by three South Carolina businessmen.

The group said the flights were between New York, Washington and three cities in South Carolina. Haley reported the flights on her 2017 public financial disclosure statement, saying the donors all were personal friends, and therefore exempt from federal rules on accepting such flights.

A Quinnipiac poll in April found that Haley had the highest approval ratings of five Trump Cabinet members tested and was the only Cabinet member to hold majority approval among Democrats, Republicans and independents.

Overall, 63 per cent approved and 17 per cent disapproved of her performance as UN ambassador.</s>Nikki Haley resigns as Trump ambassador to U.N., catches officials off guard

Trump, asked if he was considering his daughter Ivanka Trump for the role, said she would be "incredible" — but that he would be accused of nepotism.</s>WASHINGTON—U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is resigning at the end of 2018, President Trump said on Tuesday.

At the Oval Office, the president said Ms. Haley had told him six months ago she would leave at the end of the year. The president called her “fantastic.”

Ms. Haley, the former Republican governor of South Carolina,...</s>Trump says UN Ambassador Nikki Haley leaving administration 'at the end of the year'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump says UN Ambassador Nikki Haley leaving administration 'at the end of the year'</s>U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley stunned Washington Tuesday morning as she announced her resignation during an appearance with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley stunned Washington Tuesday morning as she announced her resignation during an appearance with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

“It’s very important for government officials to know when to step aside,” said Haley, who revealed she would remain on the job through the end of the year.

Trump told reporters that six months ago Haley told him that she wanted to leave after hitting the two-year mark.

“She’s done a fantastic job and we’ve done a fantastic job together,” he said.

A vocal critic of Trump’s campaign rhetoric in 2016, the 46-year-old Haley has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate or a running mate for Vice President Mike Pence after Trump’s time in office.

But she said Tuesday she was not resigning to pursue her own political aspirations. “I’m not running in 2020,” she said.

Haley had been an important member of the Trump foreign policy team — a former South Carolina governor who could talk the language of diplomats while defending Trump’s blunt talk to his international critics. A national security hard-liner, she was sharply critical of Russia, Iran, North Korea and Syria.

Haley praised Trump’s accomplishments the last two years, saying the U.S. is more respected around the world, the U.N. budget has been pared and the U.S. has challenged anti-Israeli sentiments in the U.N.

“Countries might not like what we do, but they respect what we do,” she said.

Haley was appointed to the U.N. post in November 2016. In her resignation letter, she noted that she had served in public office, as ambassador, governor and a state lawmaker for the last 14 years.

Trump said he expected to announce a replacement in the next two to three weeks – he expects many takers as Haley has made the post “a more glamorous position.”

In no time, Twitter became a battle ground for her replacement. Radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt tweeted that U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell “is the obvious choice,” while others tweeted photos of Haley sailing last weekend with former Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell.

Later Tuesday, Trump was asked about a rumor that he was considering naming his daughter, Ivanka Trump, to fill Haley’s post. Trump said he thought his daughter, who serves as a senior aide, would be “incredible,” but he did not want to be accused of nepotism. Ivanka Trump also tweeted that she would not be replacing Haley.

The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley told CNN last year that Trump originally offered to make her his secretary of state, but she declined because “I just thought he could find someone better.” Her departure means the administration will have one less minority in a largely white Cabinet, as well as one less woman.

Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, who has been tracking turnover in the Trump administration for the Brookings Institution, observed that Haley is the only Trump Cabinet number “who left on her own volition.”

“She’s basically learned how to do the job and now she’s gone,” Tenpas added.

The announcement elicited praise for Haley from the right. Fox News contributor Guy Benson tweeted that Haley seemed to have departed the Trump administration “100% on her own terms, 100% percent amicably and with an enhanced reputation.”

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., praised Haley as a “tireless champion of America’s interests and values” who was unafraid to call out dictators’ “cheap promises to uphold peace.”

However, ACLU Human rights program director Jamil Dakwar said in a statement, “Haley will leave her post having caused long-term damage to key international human rights bodies and having put the United States in the company of some of the worst human rights abusers.”

Last month Haley brandished her credentials as a Trump loyalist when she wrote an op-ed article for the Washington Post in which she challenged an “anonymous” administration official who wrote that he or she served in the administration to temper Trump’s excesses.

Haley wrote that when she doesn’t agree with Trump she tells him privately, and urged the anonymous op-ed writer to do the same.

“If that doesn’t work, and you are truly bothered by the direction of the administration,” she continued, “then resign on principle.”

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or at 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.</s>Nikki Haley, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations looks on during a meeting with US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval office of the White House October 9, 2018 in Washington, DC. - Nikki Haley resigned Tuesday as the US ambassador to the United Nations, in the latest departure from President Donald Trump's national security team. Meeting Haley in the Oval Office, Trump said that Haley had done a "fantastic job" and would leave at the end of the year. (credit: OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP/Getty Images)

DENVER (CBS4)– Some of Colorado’s Republican congressmen are reacting to United Nation’s Ambassador Nikky Haley’s resignation on Tuesday morning.

“I have given everything I’ve got these last eight years,” she said, referring to her six years as South Carolina governor as well as her time at the U.N. “And I do think it’s good to rotate in other people who can put that same energy and power into it.”

Haley made the announcement with Pres. Donald Trump by her side. Her resignation blindsided many administration officials and stirring speculation in the White House and beyond about the timing and reasons for the latest Trump shake-up just weeks before the November midterm elections.

Sen. Cory Gardner tweeted that “Because of @nikkihaley’s leadership, the United States has a powerful voice again at the United Nations. She’s been an incredible partner to work closely with on carrying out the Administration’s maximum pressure doctrine on North Korea.”

Rep. Doug Lamborn tweeted “Thank you Ambassador @nikkihaley for your incredible leadership. You’ve done tremendous work representing America at the United Nations!”</s>Haley will step down at the end of the year, Trump said during a Tuesday morning meeting with the ambassador in the Oval Office. She had told him six months ago that she wanted to leave after serving two years in the role, the president said.

“Nikki Haley, ambassador to the United Nations, has been very special to me,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “She’s a fantastic person, very importantly, but she is also somebody who gets it.”

Trump said Tuesday that Haley has “done an incredible job” as ambassador, adding that he would be happy to have her back in any capacity.

Haley was confirmed as U.N. ambassador in January 2017. Previously, she was the governor of South Carolina. Haley had been an early critic of Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, calling him “everything a governor doesn’t want in a president” in February 2016. Trump had publicly fired back at her jabs, tweeting in March 2016 that “the people of South Carolina are embarrassed” by her.

Trump’s decision to appoint Haley to head the U.S. envoy to the U.N. was widely viewed as an olive branch to some of Trump’s conservative critics. She has helped the Trump administration navigate some of its most controversial foreign policy endeavors related to North Korea and Russia.

Haley said Tuesday that she was a “lucky girl” to have been able to serve as South Carolina’s governor and as U.N. ambassador.

“It has been an honor of a lifetime,” she said in the Oval Office. “Look at what has happened in two years with the United States on foreign policy. Now, the United States is respected. Countries may not like what we do, but they respect what we do.”

Nikki Haley on her resignation: "I don't have anything set on where I'm going to go."



"It's been eight years of intense time and I'm a believer in term limits," she adds. "I think you have to be selfless enough to know when you step aside" https://t.co/fHGX05uoby pic.twitter.com/HpEUzzX761 — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 9, 2018

Last month, Haley drew backlash online after claiming world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly had laughed at Trump because they “respect” his “honesty” ― not because they disagreed when he proclaimed his administration to be one of the most accomplished in U.S. history.

Haley’s seemingly abrupt resignation prompted speculation that she may be considering a 2020 presidential bid, though she squashed those rumors Tuesday, stating she plans to campaign for Trump’s re-election. Haley’s replacement will be named within a few weeks, Trump said Tuesday.

“Nikki Haley has a very bright future and will be a key player in both the future of the Republican Party and our nation as a whole for years to come,” Graham tweeted.

.@nikkihaley was a strong voice for the U.S. & for moral clarity at the U.N. America was blessed to have her representing us. We thank her & her family for their service to our country & the cause of freedom & #HumanRights. pic.twitter.com/Ob43lGEixY — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 9, 2018</s>WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump planned to discuss the resignation of UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday, an unexpected departure for one of the president’s longest-serving top aides, two sources said.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was confirmed just days after Trump’s inauguration, was expected to announce her resignation during a hastily scheduled meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.

Initially a critic of Trump, Haley helped shepherd in the administration’s tougher stance at the United Nations, including Trump's decision to leave the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year. She is also among the most prominent women in Trump's cabinet.

Haley, widely considered a possible candidate for higher office, also sometimes broke ranks with Trump. In the days leading up to this year’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, Haley indicated Trump’s speech before the Security Council would be focused on Iran. White House officials later dismissed that idea, saying the address would focus on controlling weapons of mass destruction.

More: Nikki Haley: World leaders laughed at Trump because they love his honesty

More: Trump's tough line on Iran could rankle world leaders at UN General Assembly

The daughter of immigrants from India, Haley was a South Carolina legislator who rode a wave of Tea Party support to win the governor's race in 2010.

She won re-election in 2014, but cut her second term short to join Trump's diplomatic team. Republicans in South Carolina, a key state for Trump in the 2016 GOP primaries, urged Trump to recruit Haley, who was also discussed for the secretary of State slot.

There has been friction between Haley and Trump.

In April, White House aides criticized Haley for getting ahead of the administration in announcing Russia sanctions; Haley, meanwhile, bristled at aide Larry Kudlow's suggestion that the UN amassador had "momentary confusion" over the issue.

"With all due respect, I don't get confused," Haley replied in a statement.

Haley also had to take the unusual step of denying in public that she had an affair with Trump.</s>In a surprise development, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley tendered her resignation today, as first reported by Axios’s White House reporter Jonathan Swan. As speculation spread about the odd timing of this announcement (she’s not actually leaving until the end of the year), the president held a press availability with Haley in the Oval Office. There was a lot of mutual billing and cooing and denials that anything strange was afoot. The peculiarity of the event was perhaps captured by the fact the Haley felt constrained to go out of her way to deny any interest in running against Trump in 2020.

The 46-year-old former governor of South Carolina has been the subject of much speculation about a possible future position on a national political ticket. But there are at present no open or Democratic-held statewide positions in South Carolina she could run for, and if she’s in line for a different administration position, it would normally be announced along with her resignation. Trump did say she had indicated to him some time ago that she might want “a break” from her UN duties. He also said that she was welcome to return to the administration later, and would have her pick of positions. But there was no explanation at all as to why a resignation that is effective on December 31 needed to be announced on October 9.

Guy Benson of the conservative Townhall sorted through various explanations (including possible ethics charges, and a far-fetched scenario whereby Trump is about to fire Jeff Sessions and replace him with Lindsey Graham, making a South Carolina Senate seat open for Haley), but finds none of them especially plausible. Still another possibility is that Trump knew Haley wanted to leave, and really wants to give the gig to someone else as quickly as possible. In that connection, another comment by Haley immediately drew attention:

Could Kushner–or perhapseven his wife Ivanka–be in line for a promotion? There’s no telling. But something in this story doesn’t add up.

This story is developing. Please refresh for updates.
Nikki Haley announces her resignation as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, effective at the end of the year.