President-elect Donald Trump has chosen the first women for posts in his administration, picking South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and school-choice advocate Betsy DeVos as his secretary of education, his transition team said Wednesday.
Ms. Haley long held reservations about Mr. Trump's candidacy during the GOP primary, and endorsed both Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz during the primary.
But both sides seemed to have warmed to each other after Mr. Trump won the Nov. 8 election. U.N. ambassador is a key post, advising the White House on foreign policy issues and representing the U.S. in discussions with other countries.
Charter schools, publicly funded campuses that are mostly privately run, are the fastest-growing educational option. Charter enrollment grew 219% from 2004 to 2014 to more than 2.5 million students, while school-district enrollment dropped by 1%, according to an analysis of the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
"Together, we can work to make transformational change to ensure every student has the opportunity to fulfill his or her highest potential," Ms. DeVos wrote Wednesday on Twitter, adding that the "status quo" in education is "not acceptable."
Ms. Haley, 44, is a two-term governor who is perhaps best known for leading the push to remove the Confederate Flag from the State Capitol grounds in 2015 following a mass shooting at a church in Charleston.
"Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country," Mr. Trump said in a statement. "She is also a proven deal maker, and we look to be making plenty of deals. She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage."
Also Wednesday, former GOP presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson suggested in a social-media post that he would join the Trump administration, reversing his stance last week that he didn't want to work in government. His spokesman Armstrong Williams said Mr. Carson was being considered to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Mr. Carson wrote on his Facebook page that "after serious discussions with the Trump transition team, I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly to making our inner cities great for everyone." He added: "An announcement is forthcoming about my role in helping to make America great again."
In selecting Ms. Haley, Mr. Trump has picked someone who is well-known within the Republican Party but is less well- known for her views on key foreign policy issues.
One exception came in September 2015, when she signed a letter with 14 other GOP governors expressing opposition to the Iran nuclear deal reached by the White House and several other countries. Her views are less well-known on countries like North Korea and Russia, two nations that are often the focus of U.N. discussions.
"Our country faces enormous challenges here at home and internationally, and I am honored that the President-elect has asked me to join his team and serve the country we love as the next Ambassador to the United Nations," Gov. Haley said in a statement.
Ms. Haley's appointment could clear the way for South Carolina Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster to become the state's next leader. Mr. McMaster was one of Mr. Trump's earliest endorsers, agreeing to back the candidate in January.
Ms. Haley's appointment must be confirmed by the Senate.
Ms. Haley received support from Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society, a conservative lawyers network, and a U.S. delegate to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in 2005.
"Gov. Nikki Haley will bring the right principles and priorities to the job of U.N. ambassador," Mr. Leo said. "Having served as a governor, she will be able to spot instances where the U.N. is seeking to curb the sovereign interests of our country. She is committed to human dignity and will be able to push back on U.N. agendas that elevate abortion over the real human and civil rights atrocities that occur in dictatorships around the world."
South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison congratulated Ms. Haley on the appointment, but said there were some risks.
"I must note with concern, however, that every single previous U.N. ambassador came to the job with previous foreign policy experience, which Gov. Haley lacks," he said. "I hope the governor is a quick study because as one of the nation's top diplomats, she will have the critical task of dealing in real time with virtually every international crisis that arises."
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