Trump initially seemed to rule out choosing Grenell for the job, telling reporters he’d prefer to keep him in Germany. “Ric is doing so well that I wouldn’t want to move him,” the president told reporters last week shortly after Haley announced her plans to step down by the end of the year.

But in recent days, several of Trump’s closest advisers have put forward Grenell’s name again, pointing to his seven-year stint as the United States’ U.N. spokesman.

Grenell met with officials at the White House last week to discuss the job, according to two administration officials. At a separate White House meeting on Wednesday, several members of the president’s national security team mentioned Grenell’s name when asked to recommend their favored candidates for the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. position, two other administration officials said.