House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) listens as President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, November 13, 2024 .
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WHO: Elise Stefanik
Nominated for: United States Ambassador to the United Nations
You may know her from: As a member of the House of Representatives, Stefanik was a key defender of Trump during the first impeachment proceedings against him. More recently, she became known for questioning several university presidents about what she called anti-Semitism.
Learn more about Stefanik:
- Elected to the House of Representatives in 2014 at age 30, the youngest woman elected to Congress at that time.
- She was a moderate Republican, who moved to the right, aligning with Trump.
What this role does: The United States Ambassador to the United Nations serves in a high-level diplomatic position that constitutes a Cabinet position in some administrations. Ambassadors negotiate resolutions and speak on behalf of the United States within the world organization.
When she was elected in 2014 to represent New York’s 21st Congressional District, Elise Stefanik was the youngest woman elected to Congress at the time. She had been considered a moderate conservative, working for then-President George W. Bush and Representative Paul Ryan. And she criticized Trump during the leak Access Hollywood a tape was released in 2016 claiming Trump had made “inappropriate and offensive comments.”
But on Tuesday, Stefanik will answer questions from senators during a confirmation hearing as President Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the United Nations.
Stefanik entered the spotlight in 2019, vigorously defending President Trump during his first term against accusations that he was withholding military aid to Ukraine for political reasons – an issue at the heart of his first impeachment . Trump praised her appearances in the impeachment proceedings, calling her “the new Republican star.” She then replaced Trump critic Liz Cheney as chair of the House Republican Conference – the fourth position in the House Republican leadership.
In 2024, Stefanik made headlines again by questioning the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and MIT about what she described as anti-Semitism on college campuses amid the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Stefanik is a strong supporter of Israel and its decision to cut off communication with the United Nations agency that helps the Palestinians, UNRWA, and ban its operations in Israel.
This is likely to be high on the agenda if she is confirmed as ambassador to the United Nations. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that if UNRWA was forced to cease its activities, Israel would then find itself obligated to guarantee the range of services and assistance that the UN body provides to Palestinians for 75 years.
The U.S. Ambassador to the UN does not always hold a Cabinet position. Republican administrations often downgrade this position. However, Trump bucked this trend and retained his position as Cabinet official during his first term, when he nominated former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for the role.
