President Donald Trump, flanked by Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy Dina Powell. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

Dina Powell, a Goldman Sachs executive and former deputy national security advisor to President Donald Trump, has had discussions with senior members of the administration about possibly succeeding Nikki Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. In the days leading up to Haley's sudden and surprising resignation Tuesday, senior White House officials reached out to Powell about possibly taking the role, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. Because of these conversations and her experience, Powell has become one of the leading candidates for the role in the eyes of some people close to the president, according to one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.



President Trump confirmed late Tuesday that Dina Powell is on his short-list for U.N. ambassador, along with four other candidates that he did not name. Trump was speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Omaha, Nebraska. Yet it is unclear how much interest Powell has in leaving Goldman again to rejoin the Trump team. A person familiar with her thinking said she is happy at the investment bank and has yet to make a decision about another career-defining move.

When asked Tuesday whether the administration had been talking to Powell, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: "We have no announcements at this time." A spokesman for Goldman Sachs did not return repeated requests for comment. Powell, who worked for a decade at Goldman before joining the Trump administration, would have to be confirmed by the Senate if Trump were to nominate her. Haley sailed through her confirmation hearing with lawmakers approving her nomination by a vote of 96-4. Trump and Haley announced her resignation Tuesday. She is expected to leave at the end of the year. "As a strong supporter of term limits, I have long believed that rotation in office benefits the public," Haley said in her resignation letter to Trump, which was dated Oct. 3. "As a businessman, I expect you will appreciate my sense that returning from government to the private sector is not a step down but a step up." Haley also said she has no intentions on running for public office in 2020.

A second go-round for Powell?

When Powell departed the White House in December, after less than a year on the job, several Trump advisors praised her and appeared to keep open the possibility that she could make a return. "Dina Powell has been a key, trusted advisor in this administration. She has always planned to serve one year before returning home to New York, where she will continue to support the president's agenda and work on Middle East policy," Sanders said at the time.

Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, hinted that Powell would continue to be influential in the administration's efforts. "Dina has done a great job for the administration and has been a valued member of the Israeli-Palestinian peace team," Kushner said then. "She will continue to play a key role in our peace efforts and we will share more details on that in the future."

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