Advertisement Nikki Haley to leave in latest Trump shake-up Share Shares Copy Link Copy

In the latest shake-up for President Donald Trump's turbulent administration, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley abruptly announced Tuesday she is resigning at the end of the year, raising fresh questions about the Trump team and about the outspoken diplomat's own political ambitions. Haley and the president then met in the Oval Office to discuss the resignation. Her reason for resigning wasn’t immediately made clear.Trump called Haley a "very special" person, adding that she told him six months ago she might want to take some time off. Trump said that together, they had "solved a lot of problems."The news blindsided some key U.S. allies and many congressional Republicans involved in foreign policy matters. And it came less than a month before congressional elections, thwarting White House efforts to project an image of stability, with the loss of one of the highest-profile women in the administration at a time when women's votes are being vigorously pursued.Haley, the former South Carolina governor, often has been an unpredictable and independent force in the Trump administration. At times she has offered strikingly different perspectives on world events from her more isolationist-minded boss.In September, Haley penned an op-ed discussing her policy disagreements. She also mentioned her pride in working for Trump. The Washington Post editorial came as a response to an anonymous article in The New York Times by a “senior administration official” claiming to be part of the “resistance” effort. "I proudly serve in this administration, and I enthusiastically support most of its decisions and the direction it is taking the country," Haley wrote at the time. "But I don't agree with the president on everything."Without prompting from reporters on Tuesday, Haley said she had no plans to run for president "in 2020" and would campaign for Trump. She is expected to leave her position by the end of the year.Haley, who is 46 and not personally wealthy, hinted in her resignation letter to Trump that she is headed to the private sector."I have given everything I've got these last eight years," she said, referring to her six years as governor as well as her time at the U.N. "And I do think it's good to rotate in other people who can put that same energy and power into it."Trump was asked why the announcement was made now since Haley is staying until the end of the year. Instead of answering directly, he recounted how she has had to work on tough issues, such as Iran and North Korea.Trump said he was considering many candidates for Haley's job, including his daughter Ivanka Trump, who he said was “dynamite” and “incredible."He followed those comments by saying he "would then be accused of nepotism, if you can believe it.”But in a tweet later in the day, Ivanka Trump congratulated Haley, adding that she would not be the next ambassador.That a successor would be named in two or three weeks — or maybe sooner, the president said.Among those under consideration, Trump said, is former deputy national security adviser Dina Powell. U.S. Ambassador to the Germany Richard Grenell's name also has been floated for the post, according to an administration official.Before she was named by Trump to her U.N. post, Haley was elected the first female governor of South Carolina. She was re-elected in 2014. As governor, she developed a national reputation as a racial conciliator who helped lead the effort to bring down the Confederate flag at the Statehouse and helped guide the state through one of its darkest moments, the massacre at a black church.___Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.