President Trump announced Friday that he will nominate William Barr as his next attorney general, and State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to replace Nikki Haley as ambassador to the United Nations.
Barr served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. His nomination will require Senate confirmation before he can officially replace Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, who stepped in when Trump ousted former Attorney General last month. Trump told reporters that Barr "was my first choice since day one." Barr has reportedly voiced some criticism of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, which he would oversee if confirmed. For example, he told The New York Times in 2017 there's more basis to investigate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the uranium deal she approved in 2010 than there is to investigate Trump over potential Russia collusion.
Nauert is a former Fox News host who came to the State Department in April 2017 with no government or foreign policy experience. Before he settled on Nauert, Trump considered nominating former White House aide Dina Powell, former U.S. Senate candidate John James of Michigan, ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, and ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft. Nauert will also need to be confirmed by the Senate.