Nikki Haley Departs as US Ambassador

by Aysha Qamar

Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, would leave her post at the end of 2018.

The former Indian-American governor of South Carolina suddenly resigned from her position as ambassador to the United Nations.

Haley’s resignation came one day after the ethical watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), requested the Department of State to look into her acceptance of seven free flights on private jets from three businessmen.

The investigation claimed these flights were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and if not qualified for exemption broke federal ethics regulations.

According to the news reports that first broke the story, Haley alone made the decision to resign and the White House foreign policy team was “shocked” to see her resignation in early October.

President Trump expressed his wishes for Haley to return in a different role while Haley thanked him for allowing her to serve as ambassador.

“We’re all happy for you in one way, but we hate to lose [you]. Hopefully, you’ll be coming back at some point. Maybe a different capacity. You can have your pick,” Trump said.

In a story on Politico, two people familiar with Haley’s resignation said she did not want her resignation to appear to be a response to a potential Republican loss in November’s midterm elections or one prompted by any other negative event such as the results of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

“Right now is a good news time for the administration coming off of the Kavanaugh wins, coming off of the trade wins. If you know that you’re intending to leave at the end of the year, it’s a good time to leave when things are up,” a person familiar with the matter told Politico.

In regards to the rumors of her 2020 presidential run, Haley said they were merely rumors and states that she would not run for the White House in 2020, but would campaign for Trump.

Yet, some rumors say that Haley may still be setting herself up for a run at the presidency in 2024.

“I expect to continue to speak out from time to time on important public policy matters,” Haley told CNBC.

Lifelong Republication Haley has served as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Nations since 2017.

Haley will officially step down from her position at the end of 2018.