President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday said he would not ask former primary opponent Nikki Haley or former secretary of state Mike Pompeo to join his second administration, a conspicuous snub to two prominent officials who served during his first term.
Trump has held particular resentment toward Haley, his former United Nations ambassador, ever since she challenged him in the GOP primary and became his last-standing rival. Haley was harshly critical of Trump during her campaign, calling him “diminished” and “unhinged” while courting voters who wanted to move on from Trump. But Haley eventually announced she would vote for Trump, after he won the GOP nomination in a landslide.
After she suspended her race and said she would vote for Trump, he said in May she would be on his “team” in “some capacity.” She also appeared at the Republican National Convention in July to give him her full endorsement.
Haley’s appeal to women and independent voters made her an attractive potential surrogate for Trump against Vice President Kamala Harris, and Trump and Haley’s teams discussed a joint campaign appearance. But Trump remained upset with Haley long after the primary, and the effort fizzled.
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Chaney Denton, a spokeswoman for Haley, said she was proud of working with Trump in his first term and that she “wishes him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years.”
Haley, despite the embrace of Trump, continued to voice some criticisms. In a Fox News interview last month, she noted that a warm-up speaker at a Trump rally likened Harris to a prostitute with “pimp handlers” and said, “That is not the way to win women. That is not the way to win people who are concerned about Trump’s style.”
Trump attacked Haley in deeply personal terms during the primary, mocking her husband and Haley’s given name reflecting her Indian heritage. She also privately clashed with him during her time as ambassador to the United Nations in his first administration.
Pompeo, who served as both secretary of state and CIA director during Trump’s first term, has not clashed with Trump in the same way. He weighed a primary challenge to Trump but did not go through with it. Pompeo could not immediately be reached for comment.
As Trump begins to assemble his next administration, some leading candidates for top roles have already emerged. Contenders for secretary of state include Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations. People close to Trump say he is prioritizing loyalty to him.