Heather Nauert withdraws nomination as US envoy to UN

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Media captionWho is Heather Nauert?

US President Donald Trump’s pick to be America’s new UN ambassador, Heather Nauert, has withdrawn her nomination for the post.

Ms Nauert, a former Fox News presenter, said in a statement on Saturday that the decision was made “in the best interest of my family”.

“The past two months have been gruelling,” the statement, issued by the state department, said.

Mr Trump had announced Ms Nauert as his choice for the UN role last December.

“She’s very talented, very smart, very quick, and I think she’s going to be respected by all,” the president said at the time.

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Ms Nauert, who is currently serving as state department spokeswoman, would have replaced Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would leave the post of UN ambassador by the end of the year.

Who is Heather Nauert?

In addition to her state department role, the 49-year-old was also appointed acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs in March last year.

She worked for Fox News from 1998 to 2005 and, after two years away during which she worked for ABC, she returned to Fox in 2007, later becoming a presenter for Fox & Friends.

Fox News has been a consistent supporter of the president and he often cites its programmes.

Ms Nauert made headlines in June when, speaking in her state department role, she cited the World War Two Normandy landings in relation to America’s “strong history” with Germany.

source: bbc.com