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Trump said to choose Heather Nauert as next UN ambassador

Nauert is spokeswoman for US State Department, worked for Fox News but has no policy-making experience
Nauert became State Department spokeswoman last April (AFP)

US President Donald Trump has decided to appoint State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as ambassador to the United Nations, a source familiar with his decision said on Thursday.

Nauert, whose nomination would require Senate confirmation, is a former Fox News Channel correspondent and anchor. She does not have prior political or policy-making experience.

Trump will send a tweet on Friday morning about choosing Nauert to replace outgoing UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who announced her resignation in October, Fox News reported, citing multiple sources.

Trump's decision was first reported by Bloomberg News.

According to the Bloomberg report, Nauert has become close with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ivanka Trump.

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A representative of the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Haley has held the post since the beginning of Trump's administration and said she would stay in the job through the end of the year.

On Thursday, Haley slammed Hamas from the UN stage shortly before she introduced a resolution condemning Hamas. The US resolution failed to gain a two-thirds majority to pass on an 87-57 vote.

She urged UN member states to take a stance against one of the "most obvious and grotesque cases of terrorism in the world," referring to the Palestinian faction.

Nauert became the State Department spokeswoman in April 2017 and, earlier this year, was named the acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs.

ABC News reported in November that Nauert had been offered the job, but it was not clear at the time whether she had accepted.

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