Udall Votes Against Confirming Nikki Haley as UN Ambassador

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on his vote against S.C. Governor Nikki Haley's nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations:

"I have a great deal of respect for Governor Haley's service to the people of South Carolina and for her desire to lead our diplomatic efforts at the United Nations. However, after reviewing her statements both in the confirmation hearing and in writing, I do not believe Governor Haley has the requisite experience, or the right positions on key questions of American foreign policy.

"While I appreciated some of Governor Haley's answers to me in her confirmation hearing - particularly her acknowledgement that Russia deliberately interfered in our election - I am troubled by her positions on several central issues, which ultimately convinced me that I could not support her confirmation. For example, she has indicated that she opposes the historic nuclear agreement with Iran, a deal which Defense Secretary Mattis has stated we must uphold. On Cuba, Governor Haley suggested that she would double down on decades of failed policy that have done nothing to bring freedom and openness to the Cuban people. She was noncommittal when I asked her to pledge to remain in the Paris Climate Agreement, and indicated that she does not envision the United States as the global leader in combatting climate change. Governor Haley has not demonstrated any commitment to advocating for a livable wage in foreign countries where there is a record of mistreatment of workers. And, she would not pledge to support longstanding, bipartisan U.S. policy stating that settlement expansion is a barrier to peace in the Middle East.

"Like many Americans, and many of our allies, I am concerned about President Trump's erratic statements and positions on foreign policy, and that concern is only deepened by the fact that his nominee to be ambassador to the United Nations has no real diplomatic experience."