Trump says no to Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley for second term Cabinet

President-elect Donald Trump is sending a strong message to the interventionist and neo-conservative wing of the GOP: there’s no room in his next Cabinet for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and ex-United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Trump made the proclamation in a post on his TruthSocial platform Saturday evening, ending any speculation that his two former Cabinet officers and occasional critics would make a return in 2025.

“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation,” Trump wrote.

“I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he added.

Haley ran against Trump in the 2024 Republican primaries, and relentlessly attacked him.  She then refused to quickly drop out when it was clear she was being trounced by the future president-elect. She endorsed Trump, but did not prominently campaign for him in the fall election. 

Pompeo, who served as both the CIA Director and Secretary of State in Trump‘s first term, also endorsed Trump and appeared as a warm-up speaker as some of his rallies. But in 2023 he leveled some criticisms of Trump as he considered his own run for president, which  he didn’t wage.

Many in MAGA world have been lobbying against both Pompeo and Haley as speculation swirled that one or both could be appointed to a second Trump Cabinet.

These "neocons have positioned themselves to get highly influential roles within the second Trump administration," former Trump adviser Roger Stone wrote last week. “And this sinister fifth column has the potential to be more harmful to Trump's America First agenda than his leftist opinion within the Democrat Party."