SC’s Haley disagrees with Trump on Russia, the UN
S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to the United Nations, made it clear during her confirmation hearing Wednesday that she disagrees with Trump quite a bit regarding U.S. foreign policy — from Russia to NATO to the United Nations itself.
Haley’s three-hour hearing in front of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee went fairly smoothly.
Even one of her harshest critics, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said he thought they would “have a constructive relationship going forward.”
That was after Haley had put distance between herself and Trump, whose Cabinet she will join if confirmed by the Senate.
Where did they differ?
▪ Trump has called NATO obsolete. Haley called it “an important alliance.”
▪ Trump has dismissed the importance of the United Nations and talked about cutting U.S. funding of the organization. Haley said “slash and burn” diplomacy didn’t work and should be avoided.
▪ Trump recently implied he would begin his administration trusting Russian President Vladimir Putin as much as he would German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and he has been largely dismissive of allegations Putin directed an attempt to disrupt the November U.S. elections. Haley said Germany was an important ally, and Russia had committed war crimes in Syria, tried to interfere in the elections, and had wrongly seized Crimea and invaded Ukraine.
Haley addressed her inexperience – a key concern for many Democrats – in her opening statement, and the topic wasn’t brought up much after that. Haley said her lack of formal foreign policy experience meant she would bring “an outsider’s look” to the role.
“International diplomacy is a new area for me. I don’t claim that I know everything. But diplomacy itself is not new to me,” she told the committee.
In her opening statement, Haley questioned whether U.S. funding of the institution is justified.
“We contribute 22 percent of the U.N.’s budget, far more than any other country,” she said. “Are we getting what we pay for?”
But she said cutting the entire U.S. funding of the U.N. would not be in the country’s best interests. Haley said she thought targeted cuts might have an impact but should be based on problems that are not addressed, not U.N. votes.
On Russia, Haley was fairly direct: “Russia is trying to show their muscle. It’s what they do. I don’t think we can trust them.”
Pushed on climate change — an issue Trump has pooh-poohed — Haley said, “Climate change will always be on the table.”
Later, she said, “Global warming is one of the threats we face, not the primary threat.” She added, “We should always do what is right, but we don’t want to do it at the peril of our industries and our economy.”
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., suggested the foreign policy statements from the president-elect appear to be a “ muddled message.”
“Would that all change once he is in office?” he asked Haley.
“Not all of it will change,” Haley said, without disagreeing with the “muddled” assessment.
Haley, 44, was introduced by her two biggest boosters on Capitol Hill, U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, fellow S.C. Republicans.
“You can learn the details of foreign policy, but you either have the ability to persuade people ... or you don’t,” Graham said. “America’s voice in the U.N. needs to be strong. It needs to be somebody who can bring people together.”
Graham called Haley “the right person at the right time” to represent the country and “one of the most compelling stories in American politics.”
The daughter of Indian Sikh immigrants, Haley was the first woman and minority to be chosen for a Cabinet-level post by Trump. Despite her lack of foreign-policy experience, Trump said he had chosen Haley because she was “a proven dealmaker” who would be a “great leader representing us on the world stage.”
Scott spoke of Haley’s leadership after the racially motivated mass slaying at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church in 2015, which led the governor to urge legislators to remove the Confederate flag from the State House grounds.
“The United Nations will be better because Nikki Haley will be a part of it,” Scott said.
Haley was critical of Trump during the presidential campaign. Last January, she used her high-profile position delivering the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union to urge her party to resist “the siren call of the angriest voices,” a slap at Trump.
Haley also knocked Trump’s proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States, saying in the nationally televised address, “No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.”
Haley’s husband, Michael, who served in Afghanistan with the S.C. National Guard, and her son, Nalin, sat behind her at the hearing.
Haley reports up to $1 million in debt
Gov. Nikki Haley reported up to a $1 million in debt to creditors on financial disclosures filed as part of her nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
The Lexington Republican reported earning $203,316 as the state’s chief executive during 2015 and most of 2016. The governor is paid $106,078 a year.
Haley also reported a bank account valued between $1,001 and $15,000, and royalties ranging in worth from $0 to less than $201 for her memoir, “Can’t is Not an Option.”
Nominees are required to report ranges and not specific amounts of their financial assets and liabilities.
Haley reported owing between $525,004 and $1 million to creditors. The debts included two credit cards, a personal home mortgage and a line of credit.
Haley reported no income for First Gentleman Michael Haley.
Jamie Self
This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 12:19 PM with the headline "SC’s Haley disagrees with Trump on Russia, the UN."