Senate committee clears way for Haley to be Trump UN ambassador

The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to confirm South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as Ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday, as Republican President Donald Trump rounds out his national security team.

Ninety-six senators backed Haley, and four opposed her.

The only "no" votes came from three Democratic senators, Tom Udall, Chris Coons and Martin Heinrich, and Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

While most lawmakers praised Haley, 45, the governor of South Carolina, a few expressed concerns about her lack of foreign policy experience. She has only ever held office in the U.S. state.

"The position of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations requires a high level of expertise on international affairs, not someone who will be learning on the job," Coons said.

Haley was easily approved earlier on Tuesday in the 21-member Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Only two Democratic committee members, Coons and Udall, objected to her then.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)