All things Nikki Haley: What will she do now?

By: Quinn Muller 🇵🇷

Image via Instagram @nikkihaley

President-elect Donald Trump decidedly excluded former Presidential candidate Nikki Haley from his role call of cabinet member picks, which brings the question: what will she do now?

On Nov. 11, Trump posted his decision to withhold invitations to the Cabinet from Haley and Mike Pompeo, the former Secretary of State and director of the Central Intelligence Agency under the Trump Administration. 

“I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country,” said the former President on his social media platform, Truth Social.

The same day, Trump announced that the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. position that Haley once held was offered to and accepted by Elise Stefanik, a Trump ally and U.S. representative serving New York's rural 21st congressional district. Haley was the ambassador under Trump until her unexpected resignation in Dec. 2018. 

Haley’s letter of resignation cited her support for term limits as a need to leave the public sector after being in “public office for fourteen straight years.”

Ironically, this was followed by her run for President in the 2024 election. Haley exited the Republican presidential race in early March 2024 and supported Trump’s reelection bid. Haley and the President-elect have clashed in recent years on a variety of issues including continued aid to Ukraine. 

The former South Carolina governor has also been vocal since she left the 2024 election, commenting on important moments including the incumbent President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris’s nomination. 

In late September, Haley was hired by SiriusXM, a satellite radio station known for commercial-free music and The Howard Stern Show. She was selected to host a weekly politics show for the radio giant, Nikki Haley Live. The first episode debuted on Sept. 25 and is released weekly on Wednesdays at 8 a.m. on channel 111. 

Haley has used the show as a platform to address hot-button issues like abortion and to comment on the 2024 election. She has been joined by notable guests including Salena Zito, a political reporter for the Washington Examiner, and Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvanian veteran running for U.S. Senate.

Earlier in September, Haley also joined Edelman, a global communications giant, as Vice Chair of Edelman’s Global Advisory. The EGA division focuses on public and government affairs. 

 “Haley will be involved in helping companies and brands understand the role politics plays in corporate America, and navigating that world,” according to The Hollywood Reporter from Edelman CEO Richard Edelman.

Haley’s experience in politics dates back to 1998, so it is no surprise that even while not in office, the former ambassador will carry her political repertoire to the private sector.