GOP senators praise Haley as ‘powerful’ and ‘unafraid’

Republican senators are sorry to see Nikki Haley, one of the few senior officials in the administration willing to stand up to President Trump, step down as ambassador to the United Nations. 

GOP lawmakers praised Haley as “a powerful voice” who was highly effective at the U.N. after news of her resignation broke on Tuesday.

{mosads}”For decades, dictators have tried to use the United Nations as a platform to give lip service to human rights and offer cheap promises to uphold peace,” said Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) in a statement. “Ambassador Haley was unafraid to call out their BS and Americans should be grateful for her clarity and strength. She is a tireless champion of America’s interests and values.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R), who hails from Haley’s home state of South Carolina, said she “showed a level of effectiveness rarely seen by someone in this position” and called her “a true agent of reform when it came to the United Nations.” 

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) said Haley increased U.S. influence within the U.N. by standing up forcefully for American interests. 

“Because of Nikki Haley’s leadership, the United States has a powerful voice again at the United Nations,” he said.

Gardner, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Haley helped the administration apply its “maximum pressure doctrine on North Korea.” 

Haley was also one of the few members of Trump’s Cabinet to stand up to him regularly. 

In an op-ed last month, Haley said she never hesitated to air her differences of opinion directly with Trump.

“I don’t agree with the president on everything. When there is disagreement, there is a right way and a wrong way to address it. I pick up the phone and call him or meet with him in person,” she wrote.

Her editorial was in response to the anonymous op-ed by a “senior official” in the Trump administration that appeared in The New Times on Sept. 5. It described a clandestine effort in the Cabinet to rein in the president. 

Some observers thought that Haley might have been the secret author. 

Speaking with Trump from the Oval Office on Tuesday, the former governor praised the president’s leadership and denied having any intention challenging him in the next White House election cycle. 

“No, I am not running in 2020,” she said, adding, “I look forward to supporting the president in the next election.”