Trump's pick of Haley gives McMaster job he's long wanted
South Carolina is bursting with talent, and today we swell with pride that one of our daughters is preparing to step into history on the world stage.
"Mr. Trump is well aware of the importance and the critical nature of South Carolina's role in his election," he said, as speculation swirled that Trump was considering Haley for a job somewhere in his administration.
McMaster, a University of South Carolina Law School graduate, was President Ronald Reagan's first appointee for a U.S. attorney, serving from 1981 to 1985.
When former Lt. Gov. Ken Ard pleaded guilty to campaign violations in 2012, then-Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell reluctantly left his role as the state's most powerful lawmaker to fulfill what he called his constitutional duties.
The GOP-controlled Senate then elected a Democrat to step into the lieutenant governor's spot, since no Republican wanted the job.
The lieutenant governor's office went vacant from 1965 to 1967, as longtime Senate President Pro Tem Edgar Brown simply refused to take the job, and no one challenged him.