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Aides to both Trump and the Republican senator from Kentucky
said McConnell had recommended to Trump that he choose Craft for
the position, which was left vacant by the resignation late last
year of Nikki Haley.
Whether Trump would choose Craft was still unclear, as he has
been considering other candidates, including U.S. Ambassador to
Germany Richard Grenell and Republican John James, who lost a
bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan last November.
But the McConnell recommendation of Craft - a fellow Kentuckian
and top Republican donor - was the clearest sign yet that Trump
might be zeroing in on a front-runner for the job.
There had been some interest in former senior White House aide
Dina Powell for the position, but she was believed to have been
not interested in the position at this time, said officials who
spoke on condition of anonymity.
Powell returned to a senior position at Goldman Sachs Group Inc
a year ago after serving as deputy national security adviser for
strategy during Trump's first year in office. She has remained
popular at the White House.
Trump has privately expressed a desire to put his daughter,
Ivanka Trump, in the U.N. job, but White House officials were
doubtful he would take that step.
Trump has said in the past that he thinks Grenell would be great
representing the United States at the United Nations but likes
the job he is doing in Germany.
Trump had said he planned to nominate former State Department
spokeswoman Heather Nauert for the U.N. position, but a formal
nomination was never made to the U.S. Senate for a confirmation
hearing and vote, and she withdrew her name from consideration
on Saturday. [nL1N20C00G]
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Richard Cowan; Editing by Mary
Milliken and Jonathan Oatis)
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