Who Is Dina Powell, Nikki Haley’s Likely Replacement As UN Ambassador?

Senior White House officials think that Dina Powell, a former Trump administration official and a current member of Goldman Sachs’ management committee, will be Trump’s choice to replace Nikki Haley as the United Nations ambassador when she steps down at the end of this year, according to Axios.

Senior officials at the White House told Axios they think Powell wants the job and was recommended by Haley herself as her replacement.

Sources close to the president say that Trump likes Powell because she is “competent and qualified” and “Senate-confirmable because she runs in traditional Republican circles,” along with being an immigrant, moving with her family to Texas from Egypt when she was a young child, and a woman.

CNBC even reported that in the days leading up to what seemed to be a shocking and sudden announcement from Haley about her departure, senior White House officials reached out to Powell about taking on the role, indicating they might have known this was coming.

Powell has been involved with the Trump administration before.

She originally served as deputy national security adviser for strategy throughout most of the Trump administration’s first year. When she left the administration in February, she returned to Goldman Sachs as a member of the management committee.

Powell was essential in planning and organizing President Trump’s first foreign trip to the Middle East and helped arrange meetings in Egypt for Vice President Mike Pence in late January, using her fluency in Arabic and vast network of connections throughout the Middle East to help organize the trips.

Powell has worked with Republican administrations in the past as well.

She was head of White House personnel and later became Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs before she left for Goldman Sachs in 2007.

President Trump on Dina Powell: "Dina's certainly a person I would consider and she is under consideration." pic.twitter.com/zP5FFNnSz6

— The Hill (@thehill) October 9, 2018

While Powell seems to have the political background needed to fill the role, sources tell Axois that Cheif of Staff John Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton are hoping she won’t get the job.

While Powell may be the most likely name to replace Haley, a lot of other possibilities have been floated since Haley made her exit public, including the president’s own daughter Ivanka, according to the Inquisitr, and current U.S. ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell, according to Business Insider.

President Trump told reporters earlier this week that he would announce a replacement for Haley within the next two to three weeks.