The White House is considering appointing two women ambassadors to replace Haley in the United States.

White House

Assistants said the president was inclined to choose a woman for the job and that they were looking to place someone already in the administration.

The White House is adding two high-ranking women, both confirmed ambassadors, to Nikki Haley's slate of candidates for the United Nations, according to two administration officials: Jamie McCourt and Kelly Knight Craft.

White House officials said the president was inclined to choose a woman for the job and – while stressing that the process was still in its infancy – that they were looking to hire someone already in the administration.

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"It's so hard to get a security clearance and so it's biased to find someone who is already part of the system," said one senior administration official.

A state department official who refused to be identified because the process is still going echoed this sentiment.

"If you choose someone who is not part of the government, it will have to go through paperwork to check the background, check the finances, and this may take some time," said the manager. "The White House is definitely looking for someone who is already working in government to be safer."

McCourt, US Ambassador to France and Monaco, is a former corporate lawyer and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose divorce in 2009 with Frank McCourt, former owner of the Dodgers, has become a food for tabloid . She was Co-Chair of the Trump Campaign in California and the President appointed her to her current position in August 2017. She was confirmed in November.

"She did a great job as an ambassador, just like Kelly Craft," said the same senior administration official. "They are sophisticated, smart and ready to travel."

Craft, the US ambassador to Canada, is the husband of billionaire coal baron and Republican mega-donor Joe Craft. She is the first woman to serve as ambassador to Canada and as deputy delegate to the US government under the administration of George W. Bush. She recently collaborated with the Trump government to develop the US-Mexico-Canada agreement, which has increased its inventory internally. Her experience in the United States could make her a more serious candidate for the position and she has, to date, been the subject of more internal discussions than McCourt's.

Trump's national security team is grappling with a debate over whether the US ambassador's post should remain a firm-level position, a detail reported for the first time by Axios.

Republican administrations generally do not grant cabinet status to the rank of US ambassador, unlike democratic administrations. Trump resisted the trend when he took office while holding the post of minister as he had been under the Obama administration.

The new names come after the first favorite, the former national security advisor and Goldman Sachs executive, Dina Powell, removed her name from consideration.

Ric Grenell, US Ambassador to Germany, confidant of National Security Advisor John Bolton, and former Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman, were also examined. The president should also take into account knowledge of the business world, according to an official of the administration.