In Hearing, Shaheen Presses Trump UN Cabinet Pick on Contradictory Tweets, Statements

**Gov. Nikki Haley said Trump’s Tweets are “his opinions as they stand now” but she anticipates “he will listen to all of us and he will see it the way we see it”**

 **Shaheen receives commitment from Gov. Haley to support efforts to increase access to family planning, maternal care abroad**

 Video of Sen. Shaheen’s questioning available here

(Washington, DC)— U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, during her confirmation hearing today. Shaheen pressed Gov. Haley on President-elect Trump’s tweets and statements regarding NATO, U.S. strategic alliances and foreign leaders, saying she was “disturbed by the President-elect’s comments that are different than [Haley’s] positions enunciated here.” Shaheen asked how Gov. Haley would “avoid the conflict between [her] efforts at the UN and the Security Council, and the President-elect’s tweets and the positions that he has taken on many of the issues that will come before the United Nations?” Gov. Haley stated that those are “his opinions as they stand now” but that she will “communicate to him” the importance of U.S. alliances and the creation of coalitions. “As we continue to talk to him, I anticipate he will listen to all of us and he will see it the way we see it,” Gov. Haley continued.

Shaheen, a strong supporter of NATO and the European Union, and the first Senator to call for public hearings on Russian intervention in the November election, also pressed Gov. Haley on President-elect Trump’s recent criticism of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Gov. Haley said the President-elect is looking at opportunities to relate to different leaders, prompting Shaheen to reply that it’s “not a very good way to relate to Angela Merkel.” Gov. Haley agreed and said ultimately the goal is to develop relationships “without having to talk negatively about someone else.”

During their exchange, Shaheen also drew attention to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the importance of programs providing maternal and prenatal care as well as access to family planning services for millions of women around the world. Gov. Haley said she would “absolutely support” the continuation of those efforts by UNFPA and “any efforts that help educate, help plan, help let [women] know what contraception is in place.”

Shaheen also raised the issue of programs that support women’s reproductive health and family planning in Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson’s nomination hearing last week, however, Tillerson stopped short of committing to continuing the current level of support for family planning programs.