State Department Wants to Clear Nikki Haley’s Remarks Before She Speaks
By SOMINI SENGUPTA and GARDINER HARRISAPRIL 27, 2017
UNITED NATIONS — The United States ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, has often been the first, most outspoken member of the Trump administration
to weigh in on key foreign policy issues, on everything from military strikes on Syria to sanctions against Russia and how to approach human rights.
The request underlines the vastly contrasting styles of the Trump administration’s two top diplomats, Ms. Haley
and Mr. Tillerson, who will appear together for the first time on Friday at a United Nations Security Council meeting devoted to North Korea.
"She’s filling a role and is comfortable in that role,
and I don’t think Tillerson feels threatened by that." Ms. Haley has by no means replaced Mr. Tillerson as the administration’s preferred voice on foreign affairs, according to a top White House aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Neither Mr. Tillerson nor any of his aides were present, with a spokesman explaining
that his schedule "did not enable him to participate." Mr. Tillerson has skipped meetings with world leaders at the White House too, though he continues to spend considerable time with President Trump.
The White House is riven by feuds, with various cabinet members vying for prominence,
and while Mr. Trump has a business-centric reverence for Mr. Tillerson, he is said to like Ms. Haley.
Thomas Pickering, a United Nations ambassador under President George H. W. Bush,
said the relationship with Washington was always a challenge during his tenure.