It's been two months since Nikki Haley unexpectedly announced her resignation as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and by all appearances, the process of finding her successor has been a challenging one. There was some chatter about State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, but a week ago, Politico reported she was "out of contention."
Of course, when it comes to Donald Trump's team, the winds can change direction quickly.
President Trump on Friday said that he was nominating State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert to be his next United Nations ambassador."Heather Nauert will be nominated for the ambassador to the United Nations," he told reporters. She replaces Nikki Haley, who is set to leave the post at the end of the year.
If Nauert seems familiar, it's not just because of her State Department briefings. It was, after all, just last year when Nauert was a Fox News personality, using her "Fox and Friends" platform to, among other things, endorse Ivanka Trump's branded merchandise.
Soon after, Nauert became the chief spokesperson for the State Department -- because if there's one thing this president values, it's a team with television experience.
Earlier this year, the Associated Press reported that Nauert felt "sidelined" and was prepared to quit, before the White House promoted her to a position with "responsibilities far beyond the regular news conferences she held in the briefing room."
Now, evidently, Trump is prepared to promote her again to one of the nation's highest profile diplomatic posts, despite Nauert's total lack of relevant experience in diplomacy.
As she departs the State Department, Nauert leaves behind a fairly brief record that has not always been smooth. In June, for example, she pointed to the D-Day invasion as evidence of the longstanding relationship between the United States and Germany.
The United Nations ambassador is a Senate-confirmed position. Haley was confirmed on a 96-4 vote last year; I suspect Nauert won't enjoy nearly that much support.