Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Heather Nauert, who was appointed US Ambassador to the United Nations by US President Donald Trump, has surprisingly withdrawn her candidacy. You no longer apply for the post, said Nauert on Saturday. The past two months since her nomination have been a strain for her family, wrote Nauert justification. The opposition accused the 49-year-old of lacking foreign policy experience.

Her retreat was "in the interest of my family," explained Nauert. This was preceded by weeks of criticism and ridicule of Trump's personnel decision. Nauert was formerly the host of Trump-friendly conservative television Fox News. Together with, among others, Ainsley Earhardt she presented the popular, but because of his one-sided political coloring controversial breakfast format "Fox & Friends". Until her appointment as foreign spokeswoman two years ago, she had gained no foreign policy experience.

REUTERS

Heather Nauert with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (archive photo)

Nauert's abrupt retreat came as a surprise, however, as the confirmation of her candidacy in the face of the majority of Republicans in the Senate appeared as a formality. The news agency Bloomberg News reported, citing anonymous sources, that a background check by the White House revealed that Nauert employed a foreign nanny who, while legally resident in the US, had no work permit. His tough stance on immigration issues is a hallmark of President Trump.

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Prominent departures of the Trump government: And you're out

The post of US Ambassador to the UN has been vacant since the turn of the year. Former Ambassador Nikki Haley was voluntarily divorced from office. There's no personal reason for the personality, Haley had said: "It's important to know when the time has come to go." Haley himself had openly criticized Trump in his election campaign in 2016, but then defeated his side.

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Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Robert Palladino said that Trump would soon announce his new candidate after the cancellation of Nauerts. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he had "great respect" for Nauert's "personal decision" to retreat.