“So, at the end of the year, Nikki will be leaving, and we’ll be in constant touch. I know that whenever you have any ideas, you’re going to call me, because you know all the players.” President Trump accepted Nikki Haley’s resignation as ambassador to the United Nations. He appointed Haley just weeks after winning the presidential election. “It has been an honor of a lifetime.” She first served under Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who preferred behind-the-scenes diplomacy, allowing Haley to step in as the public face of U.S. foreign policy. Haley became a regular on the Sunday political talk shows. “And Jerusalem is where the prime minister is, the president is, the Parliament, the Supreme Court. It makes sense for our embassy to be there.” But one appearance caused a rift with the administration. In April, Haley announced there would be tougher sanctions on Russia for supporting Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. This apparently caught Trump off guard, and one official said Haley was perhaps confused. “In the last half-hour, I was able to get in touch with Nikki Haley and she said, quote, ‘With all due respect, I don’t get confused.’” Haley also championed controversial policy decisions on the world stage. She slashed funds to the Palestinian aid agency, withdrew from the Human Rights Council and made her opposition to Iran her signature goal. In December, Haley staged a presentation of missiles at a military base in Washington, accusing Iran of providing weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen. “The weapons might as well have had ‘Made in Iran’ stickers all over it.” Her evidence fell short, but it served as a step in the Trump administration’s effort to punish Iran for its activities throughout the Middle East. “I, Michael Richard Pompeo …” When Mike Pompeo became secretary of state and John Bolton, national security adviser, they took a more public approach, and Haley became less influential. Bolton became more involved with issues in Haley’s portfolio, like Iran and the International Criminal Court. Haley had many successes of her own, including passing sweeping sanctions on North Korea and imposing an arms embargo on South Sudan. “Look at what has happened in two years with the United States on foreign policy. Now, the United States is respected. Countries may not like what we do, but they respect what we do.” And Haley was widely respected by her diplomatic colleagues, even those from nations who disagreed with this administration’s foreign policy decisions. Many in the U.N. saw Haley as a reasonable figure in an otherwise unpredictable administration — and are closely watching who might succeed her.