NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Rep. Elise Stefanik to function his ambassador to the United Nations, choosing a loyal ally with little overseas coverage expertise to characterize the U.S. on the worldwide group.
“Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump stated in an announcement Monday asserting his decide for the function — his first choice that may require Senate affirmation.
Stefanik, 40, who serves as Home Republican Convention Chair, has lengthy been one among Trump’s most loyal allies within the Home, and was amongst these mentioned as a possible vice presidential selection.
Born and raised in upstate New York, Stefanik graduated from Harvard and labored in former President George W. Bush’s White Home on the home coverage council and within the chief of employees’s workplace.
In 2014, at 30, she turned the youngest lady ever elected to Congress, representing upstate New York. She later turned the youngest lady to serve in Home management.
Stefanik was identified early in her tenure as a extra average conservative voice. However she quickly connected herself to the previous president, quietly remaking her picture into that of a staunch MAGA ally — and seeing her energy ascend.
She turned the Home Republican Convention Chair in 2021.
Stefanik spent years positioning herself as one among Trump’s most trusted allies and confidants on the Hill. She endorsed him within the 2024 race earlier than he had even launched his bid, and aggressively campaigned on his behalf throughout the GOP major.
She noticed her profile rise after her aggressive questioning of a trio of college presidents over antisemitism on their campuses led to 2 of their resignations — a efficiency Trump repeatedly praised.
She additionally defended him vigorously in each of his impeachment trials and railed in opposition to his 4 felony indictments, together with submitting an ethics criticism in New York in opposition to the decide who heard his civil fraud case.
Nikki Haley, who challenged Trump for the GOP nomination, was amongst those that beforehand held the U.N. ambassador function in his first time period.
Stefanik’s appointment to the job comes regardless of her minimal expertise in overseas coverage and nationwide safety.
Whereas she is a member of the Home Armed Providers Committee and serves on the coveted Home committee that oversees nationwide intelligence, her decide additional solidifies Trump’s choice for unconditional loyalty in his second administration over profession expertise.
One space of overseas coverage that Stefanik has been vocal about is Israel.
For the reason that begin of the Israel-Hamas battle, Stefanik has targeted a lot of her consideration on the United Nations, accusing the world physique and worldwide organizations of antisemitism for his or her criticism of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which has resulted within the demise of greater than 43,000 Palestinians, based on the group’s Well being Ministry.
She has gone so far as calling final month for a “complete reassessment” of U.S. funding for the United Nations. whereas serving to push for the blocking of American help for the U.N. company that gives humanitarian support to Palestinians within the area.
Her departure for the United Nations may even imply that Republicans, who’re on monitor to have a razor-thin majority within the Home, can be down one essential vote. However Stefanik’s district is situated in a deeply pink a part of upstate New York, the place Republicans are probably assured to win the particular election that may happen after she leaves workplace.
“Republicans will hold this safe Republican seat as part of a Republican majority in the House that will help deliver on President Trump’s historic mandate,” Ed Cox, the chair of the New York Republican celebration, stated in an announcement Monday.
Trump didn’t say a lot in regards to the U.N. throughout his marketing campaign, however has usually advocated for a much less interventionist overseas coverage. He has additionally repeatedly questioned the utility of worldwide alliances, together with NATO, and he has threatened allies with larger tariffs and stated he won’t defend them until they contribute extra to their very own protection.
Trump has additionally talked about how he initially needed to pick his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, for the function after he was elected the primary time.
“’You would be a great ambassador to the United Nations, United Nations secretary.’ There’d be nobody to compete with her, I tell you,” he stated at a Mothers for Liberty Summit in August. “She may be my daughter, but nobody could have competed with her.”