The White House is expected to pull the nomination of an experienced career diplomat for US ambassador to Qatar and instead tap former one-term Virginia congressman Scott Taylor, multiple sources familiar with the situation tell CNN.
Molly Phee, a career State Department official and former US ambassador to South Sudan, was nominated by the Trump administration in late 2018. However, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not act on the nomination before the end of the last congressional session and it and other nominations expired.
The White House is expected not to resubmit her nomination for the Qatar post and will instead put the former Republican congressman and Navy SEAL forward.
Fraud allegations against Taylor’s unsuccessful midterm election campaign are currently under investigation by a special prosecutor in Virginia, although Taylor himself is not under investigation.
One source familiar says the decision to change nominees was made by President Donald Trump himself.
Another source familiar with the situation said Taylor is someone whom “the White House obviously wants to look after.”
