Trump Shuts the Door on Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo: ‘No Room at the Inn’

Donald Trump, the president-elect, sent a clear message on Saturday regarding how he would assemble his cabinet. Trump, in a post on Truth Social ruled out former UN ambassador Nikki Haley as well as former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from any future roles.

 

 

I will not invite former ambassador Nikki Haley or former Secretary Mike Pompeo to join the Trump Administration which is currently forming. I enjoyed working with them and thank them for their service. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGENDA!

 

Trump’s decision to remove Haley and Pompeo from consideration for cabinet positions bodes well for the new Administration.

 

There is no doubt in my mind that Haley and Pompeo have their sights on the White House. They are both talented, and they did a superb job with Trump 1.0. There is also a lot of doubt about whether they share the same foreign policy philosophy as President Trump or if they have the humility to follow him even if they don’t agree. Pompeo was, according to me, one of the appointees of the first Trump Administration who were in the mold of John Kelly and James Mattis. They saw themselves as adults in the room, charged with the task of keeping an impulsive, not-very-bright Trump from breaking many things. Pompeo, in his previous role as CIA Director, used it to prevent key Michael Flynn aides from serving on the National Security Council.

 

Haley and Pompeo will probably put their own personal brand first in order to avoid a presidential run. They’ll probably leak and slow down Trump policies that they think will hurt their own political prospects.

 

 

I’ve also never been a fan of the “team of rivals” bulls***. If key subordinates don’t like each other, and that impacts their ability to cooperate in a collegial manner, the entire organization suffers. In his upcoming memoir, Pompeo allegedly accuses Haley of trying to push Mike Pence off the 2020 ticket.

 

According to a book excerpt obtained by CNN, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that in his forthcoming memoir, he claims former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley plotted to have former President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka work with his son-in-law Jared Kushner and try to be Trump’s vice president.

 

Pompeo’s book, “Never Give an inch: Fighting for the America I Love,” includes several shots against potential Republican rivals in 2024, such as Haley and John Bolton. The former Kansas congressman, and CIA chief, also fuels speculation regarding his own presidential ambitions.

 

Pompeo wrote that John Kelly, Trump’s chief of staff, told him that Haley scheduled a meeting to discuss what Haley claimed to be a private matter, and then she came to the Oval Office to meet with Kushner, and Ivanka Trump who were both serving as senior White House advisers.

 

 

Kelly thought they might be presenting the option of Haley as vice president. I cannot confirm it, but he felt he’d been manipulated and was unhappy about it. In his book, Pompeo states that this visit was not a joint effort and undermined the work we do for America.

 

Haley responded by calling Pompeo a liar.

 

Nikki Haley called the claim by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that she planned to replace Mike Pence with Donald Trump as his vice president “lies and gossip” to sell a new book.

 

Trump will face one of the most challenging environments for foreign policy in the next four-year period since the Cold War began. Joe Biden’s national security team and their weakness and stupidity created the environment. Trump needs to have a team that is loyal to his vision and will carry out his policies to navigate these challenges. He doesn’t want self-important divas who are looking to get their chance in the White House or burnish their image. Mike Pompeo or Nikki Haley is not comfortable in this environment, despite their merits.