President Trump on Friday announced that he is nominating Heather Nauert to be the United States ambassador to the United Nations.
She "has done a great job working with Mike Pompeo and others at the State Department," he told reporters. "She's very talented, very smart, very quick and I think she's going to be respected by all."
Nauert, 48, is the acting under secretary of state for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Before joining the State Department she worked as an anchor for Fox News and correspondent for ABC News.
Prior to her career in journalism, Nauert, who graduated from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and Mount Vernon College in Washington, served as a health insurance consultant in DC.
Her nomination comes after Nikki Haley announced in October that she would be stepping down at the end of the year.
President Trump has praised her work at the State Department.
"She's excellent, she's been with us a long time, she's been a supporter for a long time," Trump told reporters last month.
Haley retweeted a congratulatory message to Nauert from the U.S. Mission to the UN:
RT @USUN: Congratulations to Heather Nauert on her nomination by the President to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. We wish you well and look forward to supporting you through the transition and beyond. ????
— Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) December 7, 2018
This is a breaking news post and will be updated.