President-elect Donald Trump has announced he will not appoint former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to his administration.
Although both Haley and Pompeo have previously criticized Trump, they endorsed him in his 2024 presidential campaign.
In a social media post on Saturday, Trump wrote that he would not be asking Haley or Pompeo “to join the Trump Administration which is currently in formation,” adding: “I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country.”
Trump, who won a decisive victory in the U.S. presidential election on November 5, is currently considering candidates for his administration ahead of his inauguration on January 20.
Haley, a former South Carolina governor, ran against Trump in the Republican primary this year before ultimately endorsing him.
Pompeo, who served as Trump’s CIA director, had been considered a potential defense secretary by some media outlets. However, as Politico reported earlier this week, citing two sources familiar with the matter, his bid faced strong opposition from close allies of the president-elect, including his son Donald Trump Jr. and conservative journalist Tucker Carlson.
Both Pompeo and Haley have been vocal advocates for providing more U.S. military aid to Ukraine, arguing it is necessary to “prevent” a wider “war.”
In July, Pompeo outlined an escalation plan for Ukraine involving more weapon transfers, contradicting Trump’s campaign statements. The president-elect has repeatedly claimed he could end the conflict within his first 24 hours in office, but has not specified how he would achieve this.
Trump has also suggested that Ukraine is unlikely to emerge victorious against Russia in the conflict and hinted that he might stop funding Kiev, describing Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky as “the greatest salesman in history.”
Additionally, Haley endorsed Ukraine’s application to join NATO as a means of sending a clear “signal” to Russia. Moscow has cited Ukraine’s goal of joining NATO as one of the main reasons for the ongoing conflict and has repeatedly condemned weapons shipments to Kiev, warning that they only prolong the hostilities without changing the outcome.