Donald Trump has nominated Kelly Knight Craft – a Republican businesswoman and now diplomat who donated $2m to his 2016 campaign – to represent America at the UN.
A week after state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, Mr Trump’s first choice to replace Nikki Haley in the role of what is considered the country’s second most senior diplomat, withdraw from contention, the president said he was pleased to name Ms Craft for the role.
A businesswoman who was also appointed by George W Bush as an alternate delegate to the UN, where she focussed on Africa, Ms Craft was in the summer of 2017 confirmed as the US’s ambassador to Canada, the first woman to hold that job. In a recent interview when asked about climate change, she said she believed “both sides of the science”.
“Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our country will be represented at the highest level,” Mr Trump said in a tweet announcing his decision.
Not for the first time – either by Mr Trump or previous presidents – the job of representing the US’s interests internationally, has gone to a major political donor.
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Donald Trump’s Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians.
AFP/Getty
2/19 Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement.
AFP/Getty
3/19 Robert Lighthizer
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump’s ongoing trade spat with China.
AFP/Getty
4/19 Mike Pence
US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals.
AFP/Getty
5/19 William Barr
Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation’s top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation.
EPA
6/19 Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump’s previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un.
Getty
7/19 Rick Perry
Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump’s presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements.
Getty
8/19 Betsy DeVos
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes.
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9/19 Alex Acosta
Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta still remains in his post despite calls to resign over his involvement in a controversial case surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.
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10/19 Steven Mnuchin
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses.
AP
11/19 Robert Wilkie
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AFP/Getty
12/19 Elaine Chao
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband’s, Mitch McConnell.
AFP/Getty
13/19 Kirstjen Nielsen
Secretary of Homeland Kirstjen Nielsen has stirred major backlash throughout her tenure for allegedly lying about details of the zero tolerance policy that caused the systematic separation of migrant families at the US-Mexico border.
Reuters
14/19 Ben Carson
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Reuters
15/19 Gina Haspel
CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay.
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16/19 Dan Coats
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump’s administration over his refuting the president’s claims surrounding ISIS.
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17/19 Sonny Perdue
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership.
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18/19 Alex Azar
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive.
Getty
19/19 Mick Mulvaney
Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House.
EPA
1/19 Donald Trump’s Cabinet
Donald Trump’s Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians.
AFP/Getty
2/19 Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement.
AFP/Getty
3/19 Robert Lighthizer
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump’s ongoing trade spat with China.
AFP/Getty
4/19 Mike Pence
US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals.
AFP/Getty
5/19 William Barr
Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation’s top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation.
EPA
6/19 Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump’s previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un.
Getty
7/19 Rick Perry
Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump’s presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements.
Getty
8/19 Betsy DeVos
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes.
Getty
9/19 Alex Acosta
Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta still remains in his post despite calls to resign over his involvement in a controversial case surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.
Getty
10/19 Steven Mnuchin
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses.
AP
11/19 Robert Wilkie
Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump’s White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions.
AFP/Getty
12/19 Elaine Chao
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband’s, Mitch McConnell.
AFP/Getty
13/19 Kirstjen Nielsen
Secretary of Homeland Kirstjen Nielsen has stirred major backlash throughout her tenure for allegedly lying about details of the zero tolerance policy that caused the systematic separation of migrant families at the US-Mexico border.
Reuters
14/19 Ben Carson
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office.
Reuters
15/19 Gina Haspel
CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay.
Getty
16/19 Dan Coats
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump’s administration over his refuting the president’s claims surrounding ISIS.
Reuters
17/19 Sonny Perdue
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership.
Reuters
18/19 Alex Azar
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive.
Getty
19/19 Mick Mulvaney
Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House.
EPA
Reuters reported that Ms Craft was known in Republican circles in Kentucky, where she and her husband donated to a number of candidates.
Before donating $2m to Mr Trump’s campaign, she had been a supporter of Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who had been among those seeking the Republican nomination that year.
It said she had been been recommended for the post based Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who is also from Kentucky
The news agency said it was not immediately clear if Ms Craft would hold a cabinet-level position, as Ms Haley did.
She will still need to be confirmed for the job by the Senate.
Ms Nauert, a former host of Fox & Friends, dropped out of the running because she had a nanny who was in the country legally but did not have the proper work visa, it was reported earlier the month.
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