President Trump denied offering State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert the role of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, saying Thursday he remains undecided on who he will nominate to replace Nikki Haley.
“No, she’s under very serious consideration,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Earlier in the day, several news organizations reported that Trump either was expected to nominate Nauert, had offered Nauert the job, or told Nauert he intended to nominate her.
Fox News, ABC News, and the Wall Street Journal all cited a single administration official.
Trump denied the reports, saying he plans to make a decision next week.
[Read: Trump tells advisers Heather Nauert is his top pick to replace Nikki Haley]
Other candidates believed to be under consideration include Kelly Craft, U.S. ambassador to Canada, who was seen leaving the West Wing shortly before Trump’s Oct. 11 meeting with Kanye West, and Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany.
An early front-runner for the post, former White House official Dina Powell, was dropped from consideration last month.
Although Trump disavowed reports that he selected Nauert, he also praised her, saying “she’s excellent.”
“She’s been with us a long time. She’s been a supporter for a long time,” Trump said.
“We will probably make a decision next week. We have a lot of people that want the job, and there are a lot of really great people. But we will be talking about that next week sometime,” he said.
