Nikki Haley has been confirmed and sworn in as President Donald Trump’s United Nations ambassador, making the former governor of South Carolina the first Indian American to serve in a presidential cabinet post.
Haley’s appointment is the fourth confirmed in Trump’s proposed cabinet.
Haley was a vocal Trump opponent last year, and a noted supporter of Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential primary race. She accepted Trump’s nomination, however, on the grounds that “when the president believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation’s standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed.”
Her nomination has been criticized for her lack of experience in foreign affairs. Haley said and wrote during the confirmation hearing that she is for moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and, in a departure from Trump’s rhetoric, that she does not trust Vladimir Putin enough to “forge a new relationship with Russia.”
A daughter of Indian Sikh immigrants, Haley’s political career began in 2004, when she became South Carolina’s first Asian American of Sikh heritage elected to office with a winning bid for the state house. In 2010, Haley ran another successful campaign for the governorship. She resigned that post Tuesday, after the Senate confirmation.
