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Nikki Haley: U.S. Will Be 'Taking Names' at the U.N.

January 27, 2017

Nikki Haley, the newly-confirmed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, pledged Friday to overhaul the international body and "take names" of those who do not support American efforts.

Haley, the former Republican governor of South Carolina, arrived at the U.N. headquarters in New York to present her credentials to the organization's secretary general, Antonio Guterres, and briefly address reporters.

"Our goal with the administration is to show value at the U.N., and the way that we'll show value is to show our strength, show our voice, have the backs of our allies, and make sure that our allies have our back as well," Haley said.

"For those that don't have our back, we're taking names. We will make points to respond to that accordingly," she added.

Haley, who has little foreign policy experience, stressed the importance of the NATO alliance at her Senate confirmation hearing, and said that she would look at U.S. funding to the U.N. to ensure that America "gets what it pays for."

"Everything that's working, we're going to make it better; everything that's not working, we're going to try and fix," Haley told reporters on Friday. "And anything that seems to be obsolete and not necessary, we're going to do away with."

The U.S. is currently the largest contributor to the United Nations, providing nearly a quarter of its total funding. But this funding could be cut by 40 percent, according to a leaked draft of an executive order that President Trump could sign. The cuts would come from voluntary funding for various U.N. programs.

Trump has pledged that "things will be different" at the U.N. under his administration.

"This is a time of fresh eyes, new strength, new vision, and a great day at the U.N," Haley said on Friday.