Nikki Haley for U.N. Secretary

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump said in a statement that he chose Haley because of her proven reputation as a “deal-maker,” who can work with people from both sides of the aisle. "She will be a great leader represent

Since she became the first female minority governor of South Carolina six years ago, Nikki Haley has been on the shortlist of Republican state officials with possible national futures.

But few of those GOP operatives could have expected Haley's ascension to work out this way: She will be joining the administration of a politician she once said is “everything a governor doesn't want in a president.”