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.
With a blue sky above the Lincoln Memorial, people walk along the reflection pool in Washington, D.C., on June 9, 2023.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
hide caption
Advertisement
toggle caption
Jose Luis Magana/AP
A nonprofit is suing the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over the decision to resurface the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool at Washington D.C.’s National Mall, and to paint the pool’s basin blue.
The suit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), an education and advocacy organization. In the suit, TCLF is asking a federal judge to halt the project, saying that the Trump administration failed to have the project reviewed federally, as is dictated by the National Historic Preservation Act.
Advertisement
President Trump revealed his plans for the pool do-over last month in “American flag blue,” saying that the project would take one week and $2 million, and that it would be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. A few days later on Truth Social, the president posted a fake image of himself and several of his administration officials in swimsuits, along with an unidentified woman in a gingham bikini, lounging in the water with the Washington National Monument at the rear. (Swimming in the reflecting pool is prohibited by federal law.)
In a YouTube video posted by the White House on April 23, Trump called the pool “filthy dirty” and said it “leaked like a sieve.” In that video, Trump said he was going to call three companies that he has worked with in the past – “all they do is swimming pools” – and say, “Give me a good price.”
The New York Times reported last Friday that the contract for the reflecting pool’s resurfacing was awarded in a $6.9 million no-bid contract to a company called Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which previously has never held any federal contracts.
An employee at the Atlantic Industrial Coatings confirmed in a telephone call on Monday that it has been contracted for this project, but referred all other questions to the Department of the Interior.
The Times reported on Monday that the final cost of the project could be upward of $13 million, per documents it says it has obtained. The Department of the Interior did not confirm the cost of the project, but wrote: “The contract price reflects the effort necessary to expedite the timeline of completing the leak prevention coating project—more people, more materials, more equipment and longer hours ahead of our 250th.”
Advertisement
In an unsigned statement emailed to NPR Monday afternoon, the Interior Department wrote: “The National Park Service chose the best company to expedite the repair of the iconic Reflecting Pool ahead of our 250 celebrations. The choice of American Flag Blue will enhance the visitor experience by making the pool reflect the grand Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. NPS is also investing in a state-of-the-art ozone nanobubbler filtration system and will now have a dedicated crew who will maintain the grounds’ from wildlife. The Department is proud of the work being carried out by our Park Service to ensure this magical spot can be enjoyed for not only our 250th, but for many generations to come.”
Critics of the project, including TCLF, don’t share that vision – and are taking particular umbrage at the color.
“The reflecting pool should not be viewed in isolation; it is part of the larger ensemble of designed landscapes that comprise the National Mall,” Charles A. Birnbaum, the president and CEO of TCLF, said in a statement emailed to NPR Monday. “The design intent, to create a reflective surface that is subordinate, is fundamental to the solemn and hallowed visual and spatial connection between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. A blue-tinted basin is more appropriate to a resort or theme park.”
The National Park Service regularly cleans out algae, goose droppings and other detritus from the reflecting pool. The last major renovation of the reflecting pool, which included the installation of a new circulation and filtration system, took place during the Obama administration at a reported cost of $34 million.
Before founding TCLF in 2008, Birnbaum served for 15 years as the coordinator of the Historic Landscape Initiative for the National Park Service.
Advertisement
TCLF has another open lawsuit against the federal administration: it is one of eight cultural and architecture groups currently suing President Trump and the Kennedy Center board over the planned renovations of the complex, which are planned to start in July.
The memorial service will be held at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at 1 p.m.
A brave K-9 hero from the region will be honored at the Annual National Police K9 Memorial Service on Monday afternoon. (Roanoke Police Department)
WASHINGTON D.C. – A brave K-9 hero from the region will be honored at the Annual National Police K9 Memorial Service on Monday afternoon.
K-9 Knox died in the line of duty last year after he was accidentally hit by a police vehicle while pursuing a suspect involved in a stolen vehicle incident. He was a 3-year-old German shepherd and had served as a narcotics detection and patrol apprehension K-9 for the Roanoke Police Department since May 2023.
The memorial service will include a wreath-laying ceremony and will be held at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., at 1 p.m. The event will open with a musical performance by Frank Ray, and the guest speaker will be Deputy Jared Hahn of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit.
Advertisement
The San Antonio Police Department Blue Line Choir will sing the national anthem, and the Emerald Society Pipes & Drums band will also perform.
Showers continue to move west with a cold front tonight. There will be a break in the rain overnight, but showers return for the start of the day on Monday. Monday afternoon will be dry, but noticeably cooler.
Sunshine returns Tuesday, but the break in the rain will be short-lived with rain chances on Wednesday
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
QuickCast
TONIGHT: Showers early Mostly cloudy Wind: N 5-10 mph LOW: Low 50s
