By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Monday he had several potential candidates for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, including Richard Grenell, a former ambassador to Germany, and David Friedman, a former envoy to Israel.
Last week Trump withdrew the nomination of Representative Elise Stefanik for the job over concerns that her exit from the House of Representatives could threaten Republicans’ narrow majority.
Asked on Monday who he was considering instead, Trump said as many as 30 people were interested in the job.
He listed Grenell, now a special envoy for his administration, as well as the interim president of the Kennedy Center, and Friedman, the ambassador to Israel during Trump’s first term in office.
“We have a lot of good people that want it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“We have a lot of people that have asked about it, would like to do it: David Friedman, Ric Grenell, and maybe 30 other people. Everyone loves that position. That’s a star-making position.”
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the first part of Trump’s first term. She ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination last year and lost.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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