U.S. President Donald Trump has chosen State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as the country's next ambassador to the United Nations in a round of senior staff changes halfway through his four-year mandate.
Trump made the announcement of Nauert's appointment to reporters as he departed the White House on December 7 for a trip to Kansas City.
He also said he had picked former Attorney General William Barr to fill the top job at the U.S. Justice Department again, and that he would make another personnel announcement with regard to the joint chiefs of staff on December 8.
"She's very talented, very smart, very quick and I think she is going to be respected by all," Trump said of the 48-year-old Nauert.
If her nomination is approved by the Senate, Nauert, a former ABC and Fox News anchor and correspondent, will succeed Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would leave the UN post at the end of the year.
Nauert, who joined the State Department as spokeswoman in April 2017, was named acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs earlier this year. She is an unusual choice for the UN diplomatic post as she has no prior political or policy-making experience.
Barr, who held the same position in the administration of the late President George H.W. Bush, will succeed Jeff Sessions, who Trump forced to resign last month amid rising pressure on the White House from the Russia-collusion investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Lawyer Matthew Whitaker was appointed acting attorney general after Sessions stepped down.
"As the former AG for George H.W. Bush and one of the most highly respected lawyers and legal minds in the Country, he will be a great addition to our team. I look forward to having him join our very successful Administration!" Trump tweeted after making the announcement.
