Without notice, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Saturday she has withdrawn from consideration as UN ambassador.
President Trump had previously announced he was picking Nauert, but the formal nomination had not been sent to the Senate.
“I am grateful to President Trump and Secretary Pompeo for the trust they placed in me for considering me for the position of US Ambassador to the United Nations. However, the past two months have been grueling for my family and therefore it is in the best interest of my family that I withdraw my name from consideration. Serving in the Administration for the past two years has been one of the highest honors of my life and I will always be grateful to the President, the Secretary, and my colleagues at the State Department for their support,” Nauert said in a statement from the State Department.
Bloomberg reports her bid ran into trouble after she employed an immigrant nanny who was in the U.S. legally but wasn’t authorized to work.
A background check is said to have alerted the White House to the problem.
The State Department said Trump will make an announcement about a new nominee soon.
Nauert, 48, has no prior diplomatic experience.
She became the State Department spokeswoman in April 2017, serving under former secretary Rex Tillerson and continued in that job after Tillerson was fired by Trump and succeeded by Mike Pompeo.
Her current title is acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, a slot she assumed after Trump fired Tillerson.
At Fox News, Nauert served as a television news anchor and most recently appeared on the program Fox & Friends.
She was a staunch supporter of Trump, and in February 2017, after Nordstrom’s ended sales of Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, Nauert tweeted that she would buy 2 pairs and wear them all week and accused Nordstrom’s of “caving to liberal pressure.”
She last appeared on Fox News in February 2017.