Nikki Haley Resigns As U.N. Ambassador

Nikki Haley is resigning as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and will leave the Trump administration at the end of the year, she said Tuesday.

It is not immediately clear what prompted the move. She informed her staff Tuesday, NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Haley appeared with President Trump on Tuesday morning at the Oval Office, where he called her a "fantastic person" and said Haley had told him six months ago that she might take time off at the end of the year.

Trump praised Haley, saying she has done an "incredible job" and is "somebody who gets it." He said he hoped she would come back to the administration in another capacity, adding, "You can have your pick.

"It has been the honor of a lifetime," Haley said. "It has really been a blessing." She thanked the president, as well as first lady Melania Trump and the president's daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, whom she singled out as a "hidden genius" who had done significant behind-the-scenes work.

Trump nominated Haley to the U.N. job in November 2016. The Senate confirmed her to the post in January 2017 by a vote of 96-4.

Trump said Tuesday that he is considering candidates to replace Haley and would name her successor in the next two or three weeks. Haley said she is not running for the presidency in 2020 and plans to campaign for Trump. - Read More

Nikki Haley Resigns As U.N. Ambassador