CNN's "Reliable Sources" anchor Brian Stelter said on Sunday that President Donald Trump's pick to replace U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is not qualified for the job.
Trump announced on Friday that he would replace Haley with Heather Nauert, who currently serves as State Department spokeswoman. Nauert was a journalist for ABC News and a "Fox & Friends" anchor before joining the Trump administration.
"Moving now to the longtime Fox host who joined the State Department as a spokeswoman a year and a half ago. She's now nominated to be U.S. ambassador to the U.N.," Stelter said. "What do we do? She's not qualified for this job. She's qualified for a lot of other jobs. She's not qualified to be U.N. ambassador."
Stelter didn't state the reasons why he believes Nauert lacks the qualifications to be the next U.N. ambassador.
Stelter bemoaned the number of Fox News employees who have joined the Trump administration.
"Let's put our graphic on the screen. This merger, it is effectively a merger, may be good for Trump but not America," Stelter said.
Media reporters often complain about the relationship between Fox News and the Trump administration and the number of people in the administration that previously worked for Fox News.
Reporters going from news networks into a presidential administration is not new, however. During the Obama administration, The Atlantic compiled a list in 2013 of 24 reporters who went to work in the Obama administration.
Some individuals left the Obama administration to work as reporters. CNN anchor Jim Sciutto, for one, worked as chief of staff for Gary Locke, the U.S. ambassador to China, before becoming a CNN national security correspondent.
It wouldn't also be the first time a former reporter becoming the U.N. ambassador. Samantha Power was a reporter covering genocide before she joined the Obama administration.
Stelter didn't have the same hangups when it came to the possibility of a daytime talk show host running for president. When Oprah Winfrey was being considered a possible 2020 candidate, Stelter appeared to approve the idea and didn't say she was "not qualified" despite her not having any prior government experience.