WarSclerotic

Nikki Haley, a rising Republican star, announced on ‎Tuesday she was stepping down as U.S. ambassador to ‎the United Nations, but knocked down speculation ‎that she might challenge President Donald Trump at ‎the next election.‎

Sitting beside Trump in the Oval Office, Haley said ‎her 18-month stint at the United Nations had been ‎‎”an honor of a lifetime” and that she would stay on ‎until the end of the year.‎

Video: Reuters

A former governor of South Carolina and the daughter ‎of Indian immigrants, Haley, 46, is the highest-‎profile woman in Trump’s cabinet and has often been ‎seen as a possible presidential candidate.‎

Haley said in her resignation letter to Trump that ‎‎she would “surely not be a candidate for any office ‎‎in 2020” and would instead support his re-election ‎‎bid. She referred to returning to the private sector ‎‎and some media reports said she had debts to pay ‎‎off.‎

But Haley also said she did not have any future ‎‎plans set, and her decision surprised many at the ‎‎White House and the United Nations.‎

Trump said Haley had told him six months ago that ‎she was thinking of leaving by the end the year “to ‎take a little time off.”

Speaking to reporters later on Tuesday aboard Air ‎‎Force One, Trump said he had five people on his ‎‎short list for U.N. envoy, including former ‎Goldman ‎Sachs executive and White House adviser Dina ‎Powell. ‎

He further dismissed speculation he would tap ‎his ‎daughter Ivanka, who serves as a senior adviser, for ‎the post.‎ He said she ‎‎would be “incredible” in the ‎role ‎but acknowledged ‎‎he would be accused of ‎nepotism if ‎he nominated her.‎‎

EPA

Trump said ‎Haley would help him make the final pick ‎for her ‎replacement. ‎ Haley, Trump said, “has done an incredible job. She ‎is a fantastic ‎person, very importantly, but she ‎also is somebody ‎that gets it. She’s done a ‎‎fantastic job and we’ve done a fantastic job ‎‎together.”‎

Haley’s name has come up as possible Republican ‎‎running mate in the last two presidential elections ‎‎and she could also become a U.S. senator if fellow ‎‎South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham takes up a ‎‎job in the Trump administration, as is often ‎‎speculated.‎

The feel-good nature of her resignation was markedly ‎‎different from other high-profile departures from ‎‎Trump’s cabinet. Trump unceremoniously announced his ‎‎firing of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in ‎‎March in a tweet.‎

‎’A clear voice on foreign policy’‎

Haley’s surprising resignation garnered responses ‎from fellow American lawmakers, diplomats and ‎statesmen, all singing her praises. ‎

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked ‎Haley for her support of Israel and said she had ‎fought hypocrisy at the organization.‎

‎”I would like to thank Ambassador Nikki Haley, who ‎led the uncompromising struggle against hypocrisy at ‎the U.N., and on behalf of the truth and justice of ‎our country,” Netanyahu tweeted. ‎

President Reuven Rivlin said that Haley’s time in ‎office “will be remembered as a turning point in the ‎U.S.’s approach to international organizations and ‎the bias they often show against Israel.” ‎

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said that ‎‎”wherever Haley decides to go, she will always be a ‎true friend to the State of Israel.” ‎

Haley was seen by her counterparts at the United ‎Nations as a voice of clarity in a U.S. ‎administration that often gave off mixed signals on ‎foreign policy, diplomats said.‎

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres ‎issued a statement of “deep appreciation” for Haley.‎

Stephane Dujarric, Guterres’ spokesman, said the ‎U.N. had yet to receive formal notification of her ‎resignation as Washington’s permanent representative ‎to the world body.‎

‎”The secretary general wishes to express his deep ‎appreciation for the excellent cooperation and ‎support that Ambassador Haley has always ‎demonstrated. They had a very productive and strong ‎working relationship during her tenure as United ‎States permanent representative,” he said.‎

British Ambassador to the U.N. Karen Pierce said she ‎was “very disappointed” by Haley’s resignation, ‎which she said learned through media reports.‎

‎”Nikki Haley is one of the most talented, most ‎‎authentic U.S. government officials that I have ever ‎‎met,” French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre ‎praised.‎

Despite some disagreements, he said, “We established ‎a working relationship that was particularly close ‎and trusting.”‎

Vice President Mike Pence tweeted, “Nikki Haley ‎served our nation with distinction, faithfully ‎advancing President Trump’s America First agenda and ‎she will be missed. We will always be grateful for ‎Ambassador Haley’s courage, intellect, character, ‎and unfailing grace.”‎

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) issued a ‎statement saying, “Ambassador Nikki Haley has done ‎an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to ‎the United Nations and showed a level of ‎effectiveness rarely seen by someone in this ‎position. She is a clear, concise voice for American ‎leadership, American values, and has been a true ‎agent of reform when it came to the United Nations.”‎

House Speaker Paul Ryan said, “Nikki Haley has been ‎a clear, consistent, and powerful voice for ‎America’s interests and democratic principles on the ‎world stage. She challenged friend and foe to be ‎better. I am saddened that she is leaving the ‎administration, but so grateful for her service. ‎Thank you, Nikki.”‎

Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted, “Nikki ‎Haley was a strong voice for the U.S. and for moral ‎clarity at the U.N. America was blessed to have her ‎representing us. We thank her and her family for ‎their service to our country and the cause of ‎freedom and human rights.”‎

Ashish Pradhan, an expert with the International ‎Crisis Group, told French news agency AFP that ‎Haley’s departure raised the prospect of a more ‎hard-line replacement.‎

‎”The fear now is whether the person who replaces her ‎will take an even tougher line against the U.N., ‎especially with National Security Adviser John ‎Bolton now in the White House,” he said.‎

But not everyone, it seems, was sorry to hear about ‎Haley’s resignation. ‎

Human rights group Amnesty International issued a ‎statement saying, “We hope that Nikki Haley’s shock ‎resignation will bring an end to the current low ‎point in relations between NGOs and the U.S. mission ‎to the U.N. and that her successor will work to ‎repair the relationships. ‎

‎”Under her tenure, human rights organizations like ‎Amnesty and Human Rights Watch were singled out by ‎her simply for having a different opinion, including ‎on the importance of the Human Rights Council.”