Trump picks first two women for his Cabinet

In what was seen as a nod to diversity after a run of choosing only older, white men, he has asked Nikki Haley, the Indian-American Republican governor of SC, to be the USA ambassador to the United Nations.

While Haley has limited foreign policy experience, Trump said he was impressed with her knowledge of global affairs.

“The KKK came to SC from out of state to protest on our Statehouse grounds”, Haley said at a rally for Marco Rubio in March. Trump responded by calling her “weak on illegal immigration”. “She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage”, added Trump.

After choosing her to take on the role in his new cabinet, Trump said he picked her because of her proven reputation as a “deal-maker”.

“He’s been accused of misogyny, accused of racism, so getting a minority woman in his administration could actually be a good move”, Huffmon said.

“It’s escaped no one that everyone he’s interviewed and selected publicly have been white men”, she said.

Although she is a novice when it comes to global relations, Ms Haley would argue her childhood as the daughter of immigrants more than prepared her for her new role.

Mrs Haley said she was “moved” to accept the assignment and would stay on as SC governor, pending her congressional confirmation.

“Governor Haley is a strong supporter of the state of Israel”, Graham said.

When she gave the GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union address a year ago, Haley criticized the “angriest voices” within national politics and their “siren call” to voters, a line widely seen as a not-so-subtle shot at Trump’s campaign.

In May, the SC governor signed a bill that bans abortions in the state at 20 weeks after fertilization.

Her selection marks a big turnaround from public clashes with Trump during the election campaign, including her opposition to his call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US.

Last year Mrs Haley led an effort to remove the Confederate flag from the SC state Capitol following a mass shooting at a black church.

US President-elect Donald Trump appointed two women to positions under his office.

Current U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power served on President Barack Obama’s National Security Council, working as a special assistant to the president and senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights.

Common Core is an education initiative which requires students K-12 to reach a certain level in English, language, arts and maths at the end of each grade, a policy Trump heavily campaigned against. Haley denounced several of his campaign comments and urged voters to “reject the siren call of the angriest voices”.

However, the search for a secretary of state has become less clear, people involved in the transition said.

She is perhaps best known for her response to a deadly church shooting in Charleston in June 2015.

Haley’s husband, Michael, was deployed for almost a year in Afghanistan with the South Carolina National Guard in 2013, said the Post and Courier, which first reported Haley had been picked for the job.