President Trump announced Friday evening that he will nominate Kelly Knight Craft, the U.S. ambassador to Canada and a major Republican donor, to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Craft is set to succeed Nikki Haley, pending Senate confirmation, and is Trump’s second pick to replace Haley, who left the U.N. post at the end of last year. The president’s first candidate, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, withdrew from consideration last week.
Trump praised Craft’s tenure at the embassy in Ottawa as “outstanding” as he made the announcement on Twitter.
“I am pleased to announce that Kelly Knight Craft, our current Ambassador to Canada, is being nominated to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump wrote. “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.Congratulations to Kelly and her entire family!”
Trump had announced Nauert as his pick in December, but she was never formally nominated. She cited family concerns in withdrawing from consideration. People familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Nauert had employed a nanny who was in the country legally but was not authorized to work in the United States.