Why Donald Trump has excluded Indian-origin Nikki Haley from his Cabinet

US President-elect Donald Trump has ruled out reappointing Indian-origin leader and former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley in his upcoming administration in 2025.

Trump also said that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would not be returning to his team.

In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation.”

“I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our country,” he added.

Just days after his election victory over US Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s team has begun formal transition meetings and ramped up the efforts to assemble a new cabinet.

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Why Haley was excluded from the new Trump administration

By ruling out both Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo, Trump distanced himself from Republicans who had previously supported US aid to Ukraine, a decision where Trump and his allies have supported scaling back American support for allies and limiting military engagement abroad.

Further, both Haley and Pompeo, former members of Trump’s first administration, had recently become critical of him. Haley was also Trump’s final opponent to withdraw from the Republican presidential race.

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In the days leading up to the election, she criticised the Trump campaign, stating that it alienated women and minorities, and referred to racist and misogynistic remarks by speakers at a Trump rally in Madison Square Garden in October.

“This bromance and this masculinity stuff, it borders on edgy to the point that it’s going to make women uncomfortable,” she said.

Despite several offers to advise the campaign, Trump largely kept her at distance throughout his presidential bid.

“This bromance and this masculinity stuff, it borders on edgy to the point that it’s going to make women uncomfortable,” Haley said. Despite repeated offers to offer advice during the campaign, Trump mostly kept her at a distance during his presidential run.

From a sharp critic to Trump’s supporter

During Trump’s 2016 presidential run, Haley emerged as a vocal critic and backed other Republican contenders before eventually announcing her vote for Trump once he became the party’s nominee.

Haley, then the governor of South Carolina, initially declined to support Trump, stating that he embodied “everything a governor doesn’t want in a president.”

Months later, when asked by MSNBC at the Republican National Convention about endorsing Trump, Haley assured her support, saying, “Of course.”

She added, “I would not be here if I didn’t want to make sure that Hillary [Clinton] was not going to be the next president.”

After being appointed as an ambassador to the UN, Haley aligned herself more closely with Trump, encouraging voters to support his re-election bid in 2020. Despite her critiques, she spoke at the Republican National Convention, supporting Trump against Democratic rival Joe Biden.

However, in her 2024 campaign, Haley took a sharply critical stance, warning the GOP against Trump, whom she described as “too consumed by chaos and personal grievance” to win against Biden.

Her campaign branded Trump a “chicken” for avoiding debates with her and criticised him as the “king of hypocrisy.”

She also publicly warned that Trump was unfit for office. In an interview with CNBC, she said, “We can’t have, as Republicans, him as the nominee. He can’t win a general election.”

Following a string of GOP primary losses, Haley exited the 2024 race in March, calling on Trump to “earn” the support of her backers. “The time has now come to suspend my campaign,” she told supporters in Charleston, adding that it was Trump’s responsibility to win over both her party’s and wider voters.

In her campaign, Haley became the first Republican woman to secure wins in two primary contests: Vermont and the District of Columbia. These victories prevented Trump from claiming a complete sweep over Haley in every state. However, the wins did not provide her with a delegate count to seriously impact the race.

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Haley’s response to her exclusion

Soon after Trump announced her exclusion from his new administration, Haley responded with well-wishes for the president-elect.

She wrote on X, “I was proud to work with President Trump defending America at the United Nations. I wish him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years.”

I was proud to work with President Trump defending America at the United Nations. I wish him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years. pic.twitter.com/6PhWN6xn1B

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) November 10, 2024

Her spokesperson also told Politico, “Ambassador Haley was proud to work with President Trump as she defended America at the United Nations. She wishes him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years.”

Haley’s Indian origins

Born in Bamberg, South Carolina, in 1972 to Sikh parents Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Kaur Randhawa, Nikki Haley’s family traces its origins to Punjab.

They initially migrated to Canada before moving to the US in the 1960s. Haley is one of four children and is an influential Indian-origin Republican leader.

Haley served two terms as Governor of South Carolina and was later appointed as the US Ambassador to the United Nations by then-President Donald Trump in 2016.

When she was elected as the governor, she was the youngest in the country and the first minority female governor in the US. During her UN tenure, Haley also served on the President’s Cabinet and the National Security Council.