WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) – State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert withdrew from consideration as the next US ambassador to the United Nations, according to a statement.

Trump had said in early December that he planned to nominate Nauert, 49, to replace Nikki Haley as UN ambassador.

Suspicion later mounted that her nomination was running into trouble because the White House never formally submitted her name for Senate confirmation, even after Haley resigned at year end.

State Department officials insisted there was nothing unusual in that delay, arguing that Attorney General William Barr’s nomination went more smoothly because he had already been confirmed once, in 1991.

They also blamed the 35-day government shutdown and the complexity of the vetting process.

“I am grateful to President Trump and Secretary Pompeo for the trust they placed in me for considering me for the position of US Ambassador to the United Nations,” Nauert said in the statement.

“However, the past two months have been gruelling for my family and therefore it is in the best interest of my family that I withdraw my name from consideration.”

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