President Trump said on Friday that he would move to nominate Heather Nauert to serve as the United States’ next ambassador to the United Nations.
Nauert, a former host of Trump’s favorite television show “Fox & Friends” currently serves as the U.S. Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs — the fourth highest ranking position in the Department of State.
“Heather Nauert will be nominated as ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump told reporters outside the White House, calling her “very smart” and noting her successful current service at the State Department with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Trump also announced that he would nominate Bush era attorney William Barr as Attorney General to replace Jeff Sessions.
Before becoming one of America’s most senior diplomat, Trump originally poached Nauert from Fox News to serve as spokesperson for the State Department in April 2017. Nauert previously had a long career at the conservative-leaning network first as a contributor, then later as a correspondent.
Like Trump, she had no previous government experience, but had been one of the billionaire’s biggest cheerleaders while on television. She will now face Senate confirmation where it is unclear if her light resume will pass muster with the GOP’s thin majority in the chamber.
If confirmed she will replace outgoing ambassador Nikki Haley, who revealed her departure in a surprise announcement last month.
The elevation of Nauert further tightens the bond between Trump and Fox News — but particularly “Fox & Friends,” which he is known to watch every morning. The president routinely tweets out news stories promoted by the show or directly retweets their content. Hosts like Brian Kilmeade have occasionally been known to look straight into the camera and address Trump directly.
The billionaire’s relationship with the show stretches back to 2011, where its hosts allowed him regular airtime to spout off against President Obama and float various wild conspiracy theories — most notably that Obama was not a U.S. citizen and was secretly born in Kenya.
After he was elected president, Trump continued to call in to vent in often sprawling interviews. His most recent dial-in appearance last month stretched nearly a commercial-free hour and was only ended after co-host Steve Doocy begged him to get off the phone and “run the country.”
Various media reports said he briefly considered the show’s Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Veterans Affairs back in March, before ultimately deciding on Robert Wilkie.