An internal White House quarrel over the timing of new Russia sanctions played out in public when the new economic adviser suggested UN Ambassador Nikki Haley was suffering from “momentary confusion” and Ms. Haley retorted: “With all due respect, I don’t get confused.”
The feud appeared to quiet down after the economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, called Ms. Haley to apologise on Tuesday afternoon, a White House official said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr. Kudlow told reporters during a briefing in Florida that Ms. Haley “got ahead of the curve” when she said the U.S. would be slapping new sanctions on Russia on Monday in retaliation for the country’s support for Syria’s Assad government after its latest suspected chemical attack. Mr. Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, said additional sanctions are under consideration but have yet to be implemented. Of Ms. Haley, he said,
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“There might have been some momentary confusion about that.”
The dispute between Ms. Haley’s team and the White House had been playing out largely behind the scenes since Haley said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would be announcing new sanctions directed at companies associated with Syria’s chemical weapons programme on Monday, “if he hasn’t already”.
The White House had been struggling to explain Haley’s remarks amid reports that President Donald Trump put the brakes on the new sanctions. Several administration officials have disputed that characterisation, saying Haley was out of the loop.
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Three senior administration officials said there were several attempts to get Haley to back off or clarify her comments, but she refused.