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Trump nominates GOP fundraiser Kelly Knight Craft for UN ambassador

Former RNC delegate made significant contributions to president’s 2016 campaign

Kelly Knight Craft is President Donald Trump’s choice to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Kelly Knight Craft is President Donald Trump’s choice to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

President Donald Trump is nominating Republican fundraiser Kelly Knight Craft to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The Kentucky native currently serves  as the U.S. ambassador to Canada.

The president tweeted his announcement Friday evening. 

“Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our Nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our Country will be represented at the highest level,” Trump said.

Craft was a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention and made significant contributions to Trump’s presidential bid. Her husband, coal executive Joseph Craft III,  also has made large contributions to Trump and other Republican politicians. 

Craft also has helped raise campaign funds for many other Republican politicians, including  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a fellow Kentuckian; former President George W. Bush during his 2004 presidential campaign; and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, during his 2012 run for president.

McConnell recommended Craft for the position. 

“Kelly Craft is a strong advocate for American interests and will be a powerful representative of our great nation at the U.N.,” he said in a statement. “She has a long record of service to her state and the nation and I’m confident she will continue to serve with distinction as America’s voice to the world at the United Nations.”

Craft was appointed as an alternate delegate to the U.N. during the George W. Bush administration.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the previous U.N. ambassador, resigned in October.

Watch: Trump Announces Nikki Haley’s Departure as UN Ambassador — Successor to Come in 2-3 Weeks

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Trump nominated State Department spokeswoman and former Fox News anchor Heather Nauert as her replacement in December, but she withdrew from consideration last week. 

Watch: Who is Heather Nauert? Trump’s UN Pick Could Go From ‘Fox & Friends’ to Cabinet

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Correction 8:50 p.m. | An earlier version of this story misstated Kelly Knight Craft’s total contributions to the Trump Victory Fund. 

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