Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has a new job a month after exiting the Republican presidential contest.
Haley, who lives on Kiawah Island, is joining the conservative, Washington, D.C.-based Hudson Institute think tank as the Walter P. Stern Chair. The position, created in 2020, is named for the institute’s longtime chairman, according to a press release Monday.
The Hudson Institute, founded in 1961 in New York state, has a particular focus on foreign policy and security issues.
“When our policymakers fail to call out our enemies or acknowledge the importance of our alliances, the world is less safe,” Haley said in the release. “That is why Hudson’s work is so critical. They believe the American people should have the facts and policymakers should have the solutions to support a secure, free, and prosperous future.”
Advertisement
In 2020, Haley gave a speech at the Hudson Institute supporting capitalism as the world’s best economic system, followed by a discussion with a senior fellow at the think tank. A transcript remains available to view online.
What exactly Haley will be doing for the group is unclear.
The job involves working on foreign policy and national security along with other “key policy” areas, according to a Hudson Institute spokesperson, who did not give specifics. The spokesperson also declined to say how much Haley would be paid or whether the job is considered full time.
Only one other person has held the position: Ken Weinstein, who is a past president and CEO of the Hudson Institute. He currently serves as the institute’s Japan Chair.
Haley, first elected governor of South Carolina in 2010, left during her second term to be then-President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, starting in January 2017.
Advertisement
After resigning from that role in October 2018, Haley gave a number of high-dollar speeches before officially jumping into the GOP race for president in February 2023.
In the year leading up to that, she gave 12 speeches that paid at least $100,000 and possibly up to $1 million each, according to a mandated financial report she filed last spring.
The campaign was bruising, particularly after the crowded field became a two-person contest.
Haley questioned the mental competency of Trump and President Joe Biden and called Trump chicken for refusing to debate her. Trump called her “birdbrain” and questioned the whereabouts of her husband, who’s deployed in Africa with the South Carolina National Guard.
She stuck it out longer than expected, refusing calls to drop out even after she lost her home state by 20 percentage points.
Advertisement
Haley ultimately suspended her campaign after Super Tuesday, having won just Vermont and Washington, D.C.
She declined to endorse Trump in her speech, saying he should earn the support of her backers. And she said she would be continuing to advocate for her values outside of the campaign.
A week before announcing her new role with the Hudson Institute, Haley’s campaign sent out a letter thanking those on her mailing list for their support, describing them as a “movement.”
The Hudson Institute previously gave Haley the Global Leadership Award in 2018. Also winning that year was Paul Ryan, then-speaker of the U.S. House. Past recipients include vice presidents during previous GOP administrations, Mike Pence and Dick Cheney, and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, as well as international leaders.
“Nikki is a proven, effective leader on both foreign and domestic policy,” John Walters, president and CEO of the Hudson Institute, in Monday’s release. “In an era of worldwide political upheaval, she has remained a steadfast defender of freedom and an effective advocate for American security and prosperity. We are honored to have her join the Hudson team.”
Advertisement
SC Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. SC Daily Gazette maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seanna Adcox for questions: [email protected]. Follow SC Daily Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.
Thompson Restaurants has opened its seventh Wiseguy Pizza. It is located in a residential neighborhood of Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., according to a press release.
The pizza brand is known for its New York-style pizza. Wiseguy also has a rotating menu of specials which includes vegan and vegetarian offerings.
“We are ecstatic to introduce our award-winning pizza slices and pies to the vibrant Dupont Circle neighborhood,” Alex Berentzen, COO of Thompson Hospitality, said in the release. “We are very much looking forward to the Dupont community experiencing Wiseguy’s renowned New York-style pizza and exceptional quality, a hallmark of our presence across the DMV region.”
The Dupont Circle Wiseguy Pizza features dine-in and carryout services. It has a small dining room and an extensive patio.
Advertisement
Thompson Restaurants owns and operates15 brands with more than 70 locations.
This week, Jason sits down with Michael Howell, the Executive Director of the Heritage Oversight Project. Launched in January 2022, the Oversight Project is Heritage’s investigative and oversight arm. Jason and Michael discuss their shared work on oversight and reminisce on Jason’s time as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee.
Plus, Jason shares how the summer cicada story could affect millions of people and why President Biden doesn’t care about the border crisis.
Bring On The Stupid: A Drag Queen Story Hour, for children.
As High Plains Honor Flight went wheels up for its 25th expedition back to Washington, D.C., on Sunday morning, plenty of people on board knew exactly what to expect.
Honor Flight President Matt Voris said there are volunteers going on their 15th-plus trip. Voris himself said he has lost track of how many he’s been on.
But for the 120 veterans on board, the next 36 hours will be like almost nothing they’ve ever experienced.
“We find the magic of Honor Flight is when 120 of them are together, they start chatting. They’re in like company with people who have experienced the same kind of things they did,” Voris said. “And by the time we get back here, it’s like the weight of the world is lifted off of them.”
Advertisement
Voris said many veterans — specifically combat veterans — return home from serving and bury most of what they experienced deep down, not even wanting to talk about it with their closest family. He’s noticed with those who have taken an honor flight, something loosens up inside them.
“We’ve had many, many families tell us after their veteran gets home from a trip, ‘Uncle Jimmy never talked about anything while he was overseas. And now since he took the trip, we can’t get him to shut up.’ ” Voris said. “It’s an awesome thing.”
The veterans started their 36-hour trip Sunday morning with the Escort of Heroes, which took them from the McKee 4-H Building at The Ranch Events Complex to the Northern Colorado Regional Airport. Thirteen veterans who served in Korea, 106 who served in Vietnam and one who served in both flew to Baltimore, where they were scheduled to attend a banquet in their honor. They will wake up Monday morning and head to D.C. to visit the World War II Memorial, Iwo Jima Marine Memorial, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Air Force Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial and Korean War Memorial and fly back. All before bedtime.
Buses carrying veterans to the Northern Colorado Regional Airport drive down Fairgrounds Avenue during High Plains Honor Flight’s Escort of Heroes on Sunday in Loveland. (Chris Bolin – Public safety reporter)
“We keep busy,” Voris said.
This year’s trip — named in honor of the late Col. William R. Suhre, an Army veteran and Greeley resident who was awarded a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Silver Star for his heroics in Vietnam — will be the first without any World War II veterans.
Advertisement
Along with the natural fight against time, that is in big part because the group has grown that much closer to fulfilling the original goal of founder Stan Cass.
Cass, a 29-year-old Army veteran, founded the organization in 2008 as Northern Colorado Honor Flight with the goal of giving every Northern Colorado World War II veteran an opportunity to see the then newly established World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Voris took over in 2008, reviving the program and renaming it to High Plains Honor Flight.
“There are not very many World War II guys left from this area that have not previously been on one of our flights,” Voris said.
Before the trip officially kicked off, High Plains Honor Flight paid tribute to those who have passed since last year’s flight as well putting on a pair of musical performances at the McKee 4-H Building.
President Matt Voris speaks as veterans — along with their friends and family — crowd the McKee 4-H Building at The Ranch Events Complex on Sunday morning ahead of High Plains Honor Flight’s 25th expedition to Washington, D.C. (Chris Bolin / Greeley Tribune)
Local artist Fleeka performed her song, “Lovin A Hero,” about saying goodbye to a soldier about to deploy; and Richard Kerns, a veteran who went on an honor flight last year, performed his song, “Take to the Sky.”
The lyrics of the chorus — which he wrote on the flight back last year after being inspired by the journey — read:
Advertisement
“Take to the sky, with honor they fly, serve those who served, take them higher than high.”
Veterans, with honor, took to the sky Sunday morning. And after a busy day-and-a-half, they will take to the sky again Monday evening and return home, hopefully, feeling higher than high.
