The U.S. Senate on Tuesday, January 24 overwhelmingly confirmed Nikki Haley, the governor of South Carolina, as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, delivering new President Donald Trump one of his most potent diplomatic tools, AFP reports.

The nomination of Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, sailed through the Senate by a vote of 96 to four.

The 45-year-old will assume the job at UN headquarters in New York with a clear early task: reassuring nervous governments around the world that Washington will remain engaged in international diplomacy during the era of Trump.

The new U.S. president had just three cabinet members in place prior to the Haley vote: Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who was confirmed and sworn in late Tuesday.

Trump has signaled he would like to slash U.S. funding for United Nations climate change programs, and he opposed a recent UN Security Council resolution critical of Israel that Barack Obama's administration had declined to veto.