Trump apparently kept Nikki Haley's resignation letter secret for a week

(Image credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

published 9 October 2018

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley shocked everyone on Tuesday — reportedly even top White House officials — when she revealed she was resigning. Even more surprising? President Trump may have kept Haley's resignation letter under wraps for nearly a week.

Haley confirmed her departure alongside Trump in a public Oval Office meeting on Tuesday, shortly after Axios reported she'd be leaving. It was an unexpected move for one of the more popular members of Trump's Cabinet, especially since rumors of administration resignations often swirl long before they actually happen.

Yet in the meeting, Trump said Haley told him six months ago she'd like to "take a break" at the end of the year. And Haley's resignation latter, later published by The Washington Post, is dated Oct. 3. In a White House known for leaks, "that is an eternity to keep [something] secret," Saagar Enjeti, a writer for the conservative website The Daily Caller, pointed out. Oct. 3 is also the same day Trump and Haley last met in the Oval Office.

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The letter also reaffirms one highlight of Haley's Tuesday announcement: that she won't run for president in 2020. Haley repeatedly writes that she will "become a private citizen" following her resignation, though she will "continue to speak out from time to time on important public policy matters." She then goes on to liken her resignation to a "term limit" in the letter, saying "rotation in office benefits the public," and confirms she will serve until the beginning of next year.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.