Heather Nauert, President Trump's pick for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has withdrawn from consideration for the post, the State Department said Saturday.

Nauert, 49, a former Fox News host who joined the Trump administration in April 2017 as State Department spokeswoman, was chosen to replace Nikki Haley in the UN ambassador's role. But her nomination had not been sent to the Senate.

Several news outlets reported that Nauert had employed an immigrant nanny who was in the U.S. legally but had not been authorized to work.

In a statement, Nauert cited family reasons. "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," she said.

The surprise development sends the Trump administration scrambling to find a new replacement for Haley, who exited Turtle Bay at the end of 2018. The former South Carolina governor became one of the highest-profile Trump administration officials, known at the U.N. for her fierce defense of Israel and denunciation of Iran and other U.S. adversaries.

Nauert's nomination hearings had been in limbo for two months. She faced criticism for a relative lack of diplomatic experience for the international posting but was highly regarded in the Trump administration and was part of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's inner circle.