President-elect Donald Trump announced last Saturday that he will not be inviting Nikki Haley or Mike Pompeo to be a part of his second administration.
Haley, who ran against Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary election, served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during Trump’s first term in office, while Pompeo served as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2017 to 2018 and the secretary of state from 2018 until the end of Trump’s first term. Fox News reported that both Republican leaders were believed to be strong candidates for positions in Trump’s second administration.
In a Saturday statement on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation. I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Despite running against Trump in the Republican primary, Haley expressed her support for Trump in his campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published shortly before Election Day, Haley wrote, “I don’t agree with Mr. Trump 100% of the time. But I do agree with him most of the time, and I disagree with Ms. Harris nearly all the time. That makes this an easy call.”
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Pompeo also endorsed Trump ahead of the election in an open letter signed by national security officials and Gold Star families. The letter noted that the world was “at peace” under Trump’s leadership, while the Biden-Harris administration brought the United States “closer to a third world war than ever before.”
Following Trump’s announcement, Haley shared the president-elect’s statement on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote, “I was proud to work with President Trump defending America at the United Nations. I wish him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years.”
On Sunday, Pompeo also released a statement on social media, saying, “Mr. President – I was proud to work with you too. As you said, when we were together last week, you and I built the plan that made the world safer & led to no new wars. America firmly rejected the Biden-Harris foreign policy agenda. We have a duty to put America First again.”
