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Nikki Haley: US ambassador to UN resigns | Nikki Haley: US ambassador to UN resigns |
(35 minutes later) | |
US President Donald Trump has accepted the surprise resignation of UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. | |
He told reporters in the Oval Office Mrs Haley would be leaving the post at the end of the year after doing "an incredible job". | |
Joined by the former South Carolina governor in the Oval Office, he invited her to come back in a different role. "You can have your pick," he said. | Joined by the former South Carolina governor in the Oval Office, he invited her to come back in a different role. "You can have your pick," he said. |
She told him: "Thank you, Mr President. It has been an honour of a lifetime." | |
Mrs Haley, 46, told reporters that despite speculation, she was not planning to run for president in 2020. | |
She said she would be campaigning for "this one", pointing to Mr Trump. | |
"I don't have anything set on where I'm going to go," Mrs Haley said. | |
"It's been eight years of intense time, and I'm a believer in term limits. | |
"I think you have to be selfless enough to know when you step aside and allow someone else do the job." | |
Mrs Haley's Twitter bio had already removed all reference to her role as UN ambassador even before her departure was confirmed. | |
Mr Trump said Mrs Haley - who was confirmed in the post shortly after his inauguration - had told him six months ago she wanted to take some time off. | |
The president said she "has been very special to me, she has done an incredible job, she is a fantastic person, very importantly, but she is also somebody that gets it". | |
"We've done a fantastic job together," he continued. "We've solved a lot of problems, and we're in the process of solving a lot of problems." | "We've done a fantastic job together," he continued. "We've solved a lot of problems, and we're in the process of solving a lot of problems." |
"Hopefully you'll be coming back at some point, right," Mr Trump said. "Maybe a different capacity, you can have your pick." Mrs Haley laughed. | "Hopefully you'll be coming back at some point, right," Mr Trump said. "Maybe a different capacity, you can have your pick." Mrs Haley laughed. |
Mr Trump also told reporters: "She's made it a very glamorous position." | |
He added that he would be naming her replacement in the next two to three weeks. | |
The president said "very good people" are interested in taking up her role. | |
Who is Nikki Haley? | Who is Nikki Haley? |
Mrs Haley's letter of resignation comes a day after an anti-corruption watchdog group called for a federal investigation into her. | |
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said she had accepted seven luxury private plane trips as gifts from South Carolina business leaders. | |
The group said she had undervalued the cost of the flights between Washington, New York, and South Carolina by tens of thousands of dollars in her annual financial disclosure report. | |
She has just served as temporary president of the UN Security Council for a month. | |
In April, Mrs Haley clashed with the White House when a Trump aide suggested she had prematurely announced a round of sanctions against Russia. | |
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow suggested she had got "ahead of the curve" and had a "momentary confusion". | |
But she fired back hours later telling Fox News: "With all due respect, I don't get confused." | |
The daughter of immigrants from India, Mrs Haley was a frequent critic of Mr Trump during his election campaign. | |
In December 2017, she said that women who had accused Mr Trump of sexual assault "should be heard". | |
At one point she suggested that Mr Trump's rhetoric could trigger a world war. | At one point she suggested that Mr Trump's rhetoric could trigger a world war. |
BBC New York correspondent Nick Bryant said Mrs Haley had formed a partnership with UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres to protect the UN against Mr Trump's anti-globalist agenda. | |
Her with-us-or-against-us approach grated on many diplomats, but she was widely considered to be an internationalist ally, our correspondent adds. | |
Republican lawmakers swiftly praised Mrs Haley after the news broke. | Republican lawmakers swiftly praised Mrs Haley after the news broke. |
Retiring Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said: "She challenged friend and foe to be better." | |
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said she had been "a true agent of reform" at the UN. | South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said she had been "a true agent of reform" at the UN. |