President-elect Donald Trump has chosen to nominate Representative Elise Stefanik as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, giving the pugilistic New York Republican an opportunity to challenge the direction of an international body that is increasingly hostile to the U.S. and its interests.
“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump said in an exclusive statement to the New York Post on Sunday night. “Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.”
A strong Trump ally, Stefanik defended the former president in 2020 during his first impeachment trial for coercing Ukraine into investigating the Biden family’s influence peddling. She is expected to be an outspoken advocate for Trump’s “America First” policy.
Stefanik has accepted the job offer.
“I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Stefanik told the Post in a statement of her own. “During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate.”
Stefanik will likely be confirmed by the Senate, given that it will be controlled by Republicans in the next congressional session.
“President Trump’s historic landslide election has given hope to the American people and is a reminder that brighter days are ahead — both at home and abroad,” Stefanik said. “America continues to be the beacon of the world, but we expect and must demand that our friends and allies be strong partners in the peace we seek.”
The New York lawmaker will be taking her post at a pivotal time for the United Nations, which has repeatedly tried to hem in Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The House Republican Conference chairwoman has been outspoken about campus antisemitism in the past year while serving on the House Education and Workforce Committee. She famously questioned three Ivy League presidents last December about their failure to condemn antisemitism and vitriolic rhetoric against Israel and Jews on campus.
The contentious testimony led to the resignations of Harvard’s Claudine Gay and the University of Pennsylvania’s Liz Magill. The third witness, Massachusetts Institute of Technology president Sally Kornbluth, remains in her position.
The U.N. has faced widespread criticism from Republicans over its critical response to Israel’s war in Gaza, and some members of its humanitarian organization, UNRWA, have been accused of taking part in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel last year. Stefanik is expected to bring her strong pro-Israel views to the U.N. once Trump returns to the White House in January.
“The work ahead is immense as we see antisemitism skyrocketing coupled with four years of catastrophically weak U.S. leadership that significantly weakened our national security and diminished our standing in the eyes of both allies and adversaries,” Stefanik said.
“I stand ready to advance President Donald J. Trump’s restoration of America First peace through strength leadership on the world stage on Day One at the United Nations.”
The nomination of Stefanik comes after Trump ruled out the possibility of former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo returning to serve in his next administration’s Cabinet.
Stefanik is the latest official to be tapped for Trump’s second term. The president-elect recently announced former acting ICE director Tom Homan and longtime campaign manager Susie Wiles will respectively serve as his next border czar and White House chief of staff.