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Heather Nauert

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Heather Nauert
Official portrait, 2017
Spokesperson for the United States Department of State
In office
April 24, 2017 – April 3, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
SecretaryRex Tillerson
Mike Pompeo
Preceded byJohn Kirby
Succeeded byMorgan Ortagus
Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Acting
In office
March 13, 2018 – October 10, 2018
PresidentDonald Trump
SecretaryRex Tillerson
Mike Pompeo
Preceded bySteve Goldstein
Succeeded byMichelle Giuda (acting)
Personal details
Born
Heather Ann Nauert

(1970-01-27) January 27, 1970 (age 54)
Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Scott Norby
​
(m. 2000)​
Children2
EducationPine Manor College
Arizona State University
Mount Vernon Seminary and College (BA)
Columbia University (MA)

Heather Ann Nauert (born January 27, 1970) is an American broadcast journalist and former government official who served as Spokesperson for the United States Department of State in the Donald Trump administration from 2017 to 2019.[1][2][3] She is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank.[4]

Prior to her positions at the Department of State, she worked as an ABC News correspondent and news presenter on the Fox News program Fox & Friends.[3] Nauert was also Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the Trump administration from March to October 2018. In 2019, Trump appointed Nauert to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the President's Commission on White House Fellowships.[5][6]

Early life

Nauert is a native of Rockford, Illinois.[7] Her father, Peter Nauert, was an executive in the insurance industry. She has three brothers: Justin, Jonathan, and Joseph.[8]

Nauert attended Keith Country Day School in Rockford, Illinois, Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and then Arizona State University. After landing an internship hosting a country music video program in Washington, DC, she stayed there to finish school, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Mount Vernon College for Women (now part of The George Washington University). She received her master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.[9]

Career

Broadcast journalism

In 1996, Nauert was a reporter for the syndicated business program First Business. She worked for Fox News from 1998 to 2005, first as a contributor for three years and then as a correspondent for four years. During her time as a correspondent, she regularly contributed to The Big Story.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). She held her first press briefing in that role five weeks later, on June 6, 2017.[10] Following the dismissal of Steve Goldstein on March 13, 2018, Nauert was named acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, the fourth ranking position in the State Department.[11][12] In that role, she oversaw a budget of $1.2 billion and almost a thousand employees.[12] During her time in the State Department, Nauert did not develop a close relationship with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, but after Tillerson's dismissal, she became part of Mike Pompeo's inner circle when he took over as Secretary of State.[12][13]

Nauert voiced opposition to the Iraqi Kurdistan's decision to hold an independence referendum in September 2017.[14]

When the United States withdrew from Unesco, Nauert was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "We were in arrears to the tune of $550 million or so, and so the question is, do we want to pay that money? With this anti-Israel bias that's long documented on the part of Unesco, that needs to come to an end."[15]

Nauert speaking with Mike Pompeo at the Singapore Summit on June 12, 2018.

In April 2018, Nauert voiced support for Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. She also condemned "Iran's malign influence" in Yemen.[16] In May 2018, Nauert said in response to the Gaza border protests: "We oppose actions against Israel at the International Criminal Court (...) because it does not help the cause for peace."[17]

Nauert called for the release of Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia such as Oleg Sentsov, Stanislav Klykh, Oleksandr Shumkov and Volodymyr Balukh.[18]

Nauert condemned the genocide of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, saying: "We will continue to hold those responsible accountable."[19]

In August 2018, Canada called for the immediate release of Saudi human rights activist Raif Badawi and his sister, Samar Badawi. In response to Canada's criticism, Saudi Arabia expelled the Ambassador of Canada and froze trade with Canada, leading to a decline in Canada–Saudi Arabia relations.[20] Nauert said: "It is up for the Government of Saudi Arabia and the Canadians to work this out. Both sides need to diplomatically resolve this together. We cannot do it for them."[21]

Nauert criticized China's re-education camps and human rights violations against ethnic Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in China's north-western province of Xinjiang. She said that "credible reports indicate that individuals sent by Chinese authorities to detention centers since April 2017 number at least in the hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions."[22][23]

In February 2019, it was reported that she did not intend to return to work as State Department spokeswoman following her withdrawal from consideration as U.N. ambassador.[1]

Proposed nomination as United States Ambassador to the United Nations

On December 7, 2018, Trump announced that he would nominate Nauert to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations.[24] He told reporters that Nauert was "excellent," adding, "She’s been a supporter for a long time."[25] News outlets noted that she had risen rapidly through the ranks of the State Department and that she had little official foreign policy experience (though in her time as a reporter she had interviewed numerous foreign officials and world leaders). Politico wrote, "Less than two years ago, Heather Nauert was conducting interviews on 'Fox and Friends.' Now, she’s preparing to navigate the world’s raging geopolitical issues."[26] A Washington Post headline read, "Heather Nauert once cited D-Day in 'long history' of U.S.-German relations. Now she’s headed to the U.N."[12]

Despite Trump's announcement, he never nominated Nauert. In filling out paperwork for the appointment, she revealed that she had employed a nanny who was though she was in the country legally, lacked a proper work visa.[1] Citing family considerations, Nauert withdrew her name from consideration on February 16, 2019.[27] Trump then nominated Ambassador Kelly Craft, who became the 30th United States Ambassador to the United Nations.[28]

J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board

On March 29, 2019, President Trump appointed Nauert to serve as a member on the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. The 12-member board meets in Washington, D.C. and is responsible for supervising the Fulbright program.[5]

Personal life

Nauert is married to Scott Norby, executive director of private credit and equity for Morgan Stanley, who previously held positions at National Veterinary Associates, UBS, Goldman Sachs, and Cargill. The couple have two sons and reside in New York.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Heather Nauert withdraws from consideration as UN ambassador". CNN. February 27, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  2. ^ Scarry, Eddie (April 24, 2017). "Fox News reporter Heather Nauert named State Department spokeswoman". Washington Examiner.
  3. ^ a b "Heather Nauert - Institute for Politics and Strategy - Carnegie Mellon University". Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Heather Nauert Senior Fellow". Hudson Institute. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. March 29, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019 – via National Archives.
  6. ^ Visser, Nick (May 8, 2019). "Heather Nauert To Be Nominated To Post Overseeing White House Fellowships". Huffington Post.
  7. ^ Braun, Georgette (June 6, 2017). "Rockford native appointed State Department spokeswoman". Rockford Register Star. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  8. ^ "Death Notice: Peter W. Nauert". Chicago Tribune. August 24, 2007.
  9. ^ Farhi, Paul (May 25, 2000). "The New Face Of the Talking Head". The Washington Post.
  10. ^ Katz, A.J. (June 6, 2017). "Heather Nauert Gives First Briefing as State Department Spokesperson". AdWeek.
  11. ^ Da Silva, Chantal (March 14, 2018). "The Trump administration has appointed former Fox News host Heather Nauert to a top State Department job". Newsweek. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference dday was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Trump to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as the next U.N. ambassador". The Washington Post. 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  14. ^ "US says it understands 'legitimate aspirations' of people in Iraqi Kurdistan". June 9, 2017.
  15. ^ "U.S. Will Withdraw From Unesco, Citing Its 'Anti-Israel Bias'". The New York Times. October 12, 2017.
  16. ^ "Trump Administration condemns Houthi missile attack on Riyadh, says supports Saudi Arabia's right to defend borders". The Financial Express. April 12, 2018.
  17. ^ "U.S. opposes PA going to ICC as counterproductive, counter to peace". The Jerusalem Post. May 23, 2018.
  18. ^ "Political and Religious Prisoners Held by the Russian Government". United States Department of State. June 18, 2018.
  19. ^ "Trump Names State Department's Spokesperson Nauert as UN Ambassador". VOA News. December 7, 2018.
  20. ^ Gambrell, Jon (August 5, 2018). "Saudi Arabia expels Canadian ambassador, freezes trade in human rights dispute". Toronto Star. Associated Press.
  21. ^ "'We don't have a single friend': Canada's Saudi spat reveals country is alone". The Guardian. August 11, 2018.
  22. ^ "U.S. Weighs Sanctions Against Chinese Officials Over Muslim Detention Camps". The New York Times. September 10, 2018.
  23. ^ "Uyghurs, Legal Experts Dismiss Chinese Legal Move to Justify Re-education Camps". Radio Free Asia. October 11, 2018.
  24. ^ Chalfant, Morgan (December 7, 2018). "Trump to nominate Nauert as United Nations ambassador". The Hill. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  25. ^ Lucey, Catherine; Lee, Matthew; Miller, Zeke (December 6, 2018). "Trump expected to pick State spokeswoman for UN ambassador". Associated Press. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  26. ^ Orr, Gabby. "The campaign to confirm a diplomatic novice to America's top U.N. post". POLITICO. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  27. ^ Karni, Annie; Haberman, Maggie (February 16, 2019). "Heather Nauert Withdraws From Consideration as U.N. Ambassador" – via NYTimes.com.
  28. ^ "Kelly Craft: Congress confirms UN ambassador pick". August 1, 2019 – via www.bbc.com.
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Political offices
Preceded by Spokesperson for the United States Department of State
2017–2019 		Succeeded by
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