Dina Powell, a Goldman Sachs executive and former aide to President Donald Trump, has withdrawn her name from consideration to replace outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, according to two people familiar with her decision.
Powell, the former deputy national security adviser, had been seen as the White House’s top pick for the job after Haley announced on Tuesday that she would step down at the end of the year. She informed Goldman Sachs executives of her decision on Thursday, a source at the firm.
A mother of two young children, Powell hesitated at the amount of travel the U.N. post would entail, though the people familiar with her decision said she strongly considered the potential offer. Powell’s Goldman executive-level colleagues also leaned on her to stay put.
While Powell discussed the job with the president this week, no official offer was made, the sources said.
Powell initially returned to Goldman in February after spending nearly a year with the Trump administration. She spent most of her tenure in the White House working under former national security adviser H.R. McMaster, the three-star Army general who never quite got along with Trump. While there, she also further developed her already close ties to the president’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Haley blindsided much of Washington this week when she announced her impending departure. Sitting next to Trump during a hastily arranged Oval Office appearance on Tuesday, she said it would be “good to rotate in other people who can put the same energy and power” into the diplomatic position.
Trump is said to be mulling a list that includes several other female candidates, besides Powell, who have foreign policy experience and would last long in the role.
“We actually have many names,” the president told reports on Tuesday.