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Nikki Haley resigns as U.N. ambassador, praises Jared Kushner as “hidden genius.”

OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP/Getty Images

Haley has submitted her resignation to President Donald Trump, but is expected to serve until the end of the year. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump indicated that she had discussed taking a break with him earlier in the year and that he would welcome her back into the administration if she so chose. Haley denied rumors that she was eyeing a presidential run.

Viewed as something of a moderate within the administration, Haley has walked a tight rope as Trump’s ambassador tor the United Nations. At times, she has been a fierce ally of the administration, using her position to ratchet up tensions with Iran and push pro-Israeli policies. After The New York Times published an anonymous op-ed by a senior official about resistance to Trump within the administration, she came to the president’s defense.

In her joint appearance with Trump on Tuesday, Haley boasted that other countries respected the United States again, thanks in large part to the president’s posturing. She also expressed respect for the president’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband Jared Kushner. “I can’t say enough good things about Jared and Ivanka,” Haley said. “Jared is such a hidden genius that no one understands... We’re a better country because they’re in this administration.”

But Haley has also clashed with the White House, notably over Russian sanctions, which the administration opposed. After Mike Pompeo and John Bolton took over as secretary of state and national security adviser, respectively, she saw her role and influence diminish. Haley denied that she was leaving the administration for political reasons, saying that she would campaign for Trump in 2020. She also indicated that she had not thought about what she would do after leaving the U.N.