American journalist (born 1970)
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
[
edit
]
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, D.C., she stayed there to finish school, earning her
Bachelor of Arts
degree in communications from
Mount Vernon College for Women
. She received her master's degree in journalism from
Columbia University
.
[9]
Career
[
edit
]
Broadcast journalism
[
edit
]
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
.
[10]
From 2005 to 2007, Nauert held positions at several news organizations, including
ABC News
as a general assignment correspondent, where she contributed to
ABC World News Tonight
,
Good Morning America
, and
Nightline
. While at ABC, she was nominated for an
Emmy Award
for her work on the special series
13 Around the World
.
[10]
In 2007, Nauert returned to Fox News as co-host with
John Gibson
of the weekday edition of
The Big Story
[11]
until it was cancelled in 2008.
[
citation needed
]
Nauert also co-anchored the newscasts
Good Day Early Call
and
Good Day New York Wake Up
with co-anchor Steve Lacy weekday mornings for
Fox Broadcasting Company
owned-and-operated station
WNYW
in New York City. In October 2012, Nauert left
Good Day Wake Up
and became a
news presenter
for
Fox & Friends
.
[11]
[12]
According to the
Washington Post
, Nauert "broadcast just about every right-wing talking-point under the sun" when she was a presenter on Fox News. She referred to
illegal immigrant
students as "illegals"
[13]
and cited
CDC
studies that immigrant children were bringing disease like
tuberculosis
.
[14]
She has appeared on two fictional TV shows in which she played herself:
Brother's Keeper
(1 episode, 1999) and
24
(3 episodes, 2010).
[
citation needed
]
United States Department of State
[
edit
]
On April 24, 2017, the
United States Department of State
announced that Nauert would be the new State Department spokesperson, her first role in government.
[15]
She held her first
press briefing
in that role five weeks later, on June 6, 2017.
[16]
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.
[17]
[13]
In that role, she oversaw a budget of $1.2 billion and almost a thousand employees.
[13]
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.
[13]
[18]
Nauert voiced opposition to the
Iraqi Kurdistan
's decision to hold an
independence referendum
in September 2017.
[19]
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."
[20]
In April 2018, Nauert voiced support for
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
. She also condemned "Iran's malign influence" in
Yemen
.
[21]
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."
[22]
Nauert called for the release of Ukrainian political prisoners in
Russia
such as
Oleg Sentsov
, Stanislav Klykh, Oleksandr Shumkov and Volodymyr Balukh.
[23]
Nauert condemned the
genocide
of the
Rohingya Muslim
minority in
Myanmar
, saying: "We will continue to hold those responsible accountable."
[24]
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
.
[25]
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."
[26]
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."
[27]
[28]
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
[
edit
]
On December 7, 2018, Trump announced that he would nominate Nauert to be
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
.
[29]
He told reporters that Nauert was "excellent," adding, "She’s been a supporter for a long time."
[30]
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."
[31]
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."
[13]
Despite Trump's announcement, he never nominated Nauert. In filling out paperwork for the appointment, she revealed that she had employed a nanny who, 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.
[32]
Trump then nominated Ambassador
Kelly Craft
, who became the 30th United States Ambassador to the United Nations.
[33]
J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
[
edit
]
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
[
edit
]
Nauert is married to Scott Norby, a managing director at
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
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Heather Nauert withdraws from consideration as UN ambassador"
.
CNN
. February 17, 2019
. Retrieved
February 17,
2019
.
- ^
Scarry, Eddie (April 24, 2017).
"Fox News reporter Heather Nauert named State Department spokeswoman"
.
Washington Examiner
.
- ^
a
b
"Heather Nauert - Institute for Politics and Strategy - Carnegie Mellon University"
.
Carnegie Mellon University
. Archived from
the original
on March 6, 2022
. Retrieved
March 5,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Heather Nauert Senior Fellow"
.
Hudson Institute
. Archived from
the original
on March 1, 2020
. Retrieved
March 1,
2020
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
Visser, Nick (May 8, 2019).
"Heather Nauert To Be Nominated To Post Overseeing White House Fellowships"
.
Huffington Post
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
"Death Notice: Peter W. Nauert"
.
Chicago Tribune
. August 24, 2007.
- ^
Farhi, Paul (May 25, 2000).
"The New Face Of the Talking Head"
.
The Washington Post
.
- ^
a
b
"Heather Nauert: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know"
.
Heavy.com
. March 6, 2017.
- ^
a
b
Barmash, Jerry (October 17, 2012).
"Heather Nauert and Juliet Huddy Swap Roles at Fox"
.
AdWeek
.
- ^
Kasana, Mehreen (March 13, 2018).
"Trump's Admin Appoints Heather Nauert, A Former 'Fox & Friends' Host, As Acting Under Secretary"
.
Bustle
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Heather Nauert once cited D-Day in 'long history' of U.S.-German relations. Now she's headed to the U.N."
The Washington Post
. 2018
. Retrieved
August 3,
2019
.
- ^
"Media Matters for America clip"
.
- ^
Schwartz, Felicia (April 24, 2017).
"Former Fox Anchor Heather Nauert Is New State Department Spokeswoman"
.
The Wall Street Journal
.
- ^
Katz, A.J. (June 6, 2017).
"Heather Nauert Gives First Briefing as State Department Spokesperson"
.
AdWeek
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
"Trump to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as the next U.N. ambassador"
.
The Washington Post
. 2018
. Retrieved
August 3,
2019
.
- ^
"US says it understands 'legitimate aspirations' of people in Iraqi Kurdistan"
. June 9, 2017.
- ^
"U.S. Will Withdraw From Unesco, Citing Its 'Anti-Israel Bias'
"
.
The New York Times
. October 12, 2017.
- ^
"Trump Administration condemns Houthi missile attack on Riyadh, says supports Saudi Arabia's right to defend borders"
.
The Financial Express
. April 12, 2018.
- ^
"U.S. opposes PA going to ICC as counterproductive, counter to peace"
.
The Jerusalem Post
. May 23, 2018.
- ^
"Political and Religious Prisoners Held by the Russian Government"
.
United States Department of State
. June 18, 2018.
- ^
"Trump Names State Department's Spokesperson Nauert as UN Ambassador"
.
VOA News
. December 7, 2018.
- ^
Gambrell, Jon (August 5, 2018).
"Saudi Arabia expels Canadian ambassador, freezes trade in human rights dispute"
.
Toronto Star
.
Associated Press
.
- ^
"
'We don't have a single friend': Canada's Saudi spat reveals country is alone"
.
The Guardian
. August 11, 2018.
- ^
"U.S. Weighs Sanctions Against Chinese Officials Over Muslim Detention Camps"
.
The New York Times
. September 10, 2018.
- ^
"Uyghurs, Legal Experts Dismiss Chinese Legal Move to Justify Re-education Camps"
.
Radio Free Asia
. October 11, 2018.
- ^
Chalfant, Morgan (December 7, 2018).
"Trump to nominate Nauert as United Nations ambassador"
.
The Hill
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
Lucey, Catherine; Lee, Matthew; Miller, Zeke (December 6, 2018).
"Trump expected to pick State spokeswoman for UN ambassador"
.
Associated Press
. Retrieved
December 9,
2018
.
- ^
Orr, Gabby (December 26, 2018).
"The campaign to confirm a diplomatic novice to America's top U.N. post"
.
POLITICO
. Retrieved
December 26,
2018
.
- ^
Karni, Annie; Haberman, Maggie (February 16, 2019).
"Heather Nauert Withdraws From Consideration as U.N. Ambassador"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
"Kelly Craft: Congress confirms UN ambassador pick"
.
BBC News
. August 1, 2019.
External links
[
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]