Elise Stefanik is poised to take aim at the UN for Donald Trump

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations is a combative, five-term Republican congresswoman and a rising star in the MAGA movement. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) denounced the U.N. in November 2024 as a corrupt "den of antisemitism" and is expected to be a vocal defender of Israel, while staking out an adversarial position for the United States in line with longstanding GOP policy critiques of the organization.

A moderate goes MAGA

After graduating from Harvard, Stefanik worked first on the Domestic Policy Council for President George W. Bush and later in the office of White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten. After joining Paul Ryan's unsuccessful vice presidential run in 2012, she returned to New York to run for the state's 21st congressional district in 2014. During her successful campaign, Stefanik received "considerable support from the GOP establishment," which saw her as "an appealing figure for the party," said CBS News. Her victory made her, at the time, the youngest woman elected to Congress in U.S. history.

Early on in her career, Stefanik, now 40, was publicly known as a moderate. That changed when she played a leading role in the House proceedings for Trump's first impeachment in the fall of 2019. Her fiery performances defending Trump and attacking witnesses "quickly elevated her profile." As a result, "her own Twitter following exploded," said NPR. Her embrace of Trump, especially as he continued to promote baseless conspiracies about the 2020 presidential election, "puzzled former allies and mentors who envisioned a different future for her," said Time. Eventually, stories about her transformation into a Trump ally and what she perceived as sexist coverage created "a tight knot of resentment" against Democrats and the media, said The Washington Post.

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In 2021, Stefanik was elected as the House GOP conference chair, and she is now the fourth-ranking Republican in the House. A frequent critic of President Biden, Stefanik also "played a high-profile role in the congressional investigations into antisemitism on college campuses" in 2024, said The New York Times. Stefanik "spent years ingratiating herself with Trump and positioning herself as one of his most trusted allies," which landed her on a shortlist of potential running mates for Trump in 2024, said The Associated Press.

A reform agenda at the UN

While she serves on the Armed Services Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Stefanik "would bring relatively little diplomatic or foreign policy experience to the role," said The New York Times. Nevertheless, Stefanik appears to have support from some Senate Democrats for her new role. "I look forward to working with her," said Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) in a post on X. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) also enthusiastically met with and endorsed her.

Stefanik is expected to pursue cuts to U.S. funding of the UN, as well as "defunding the U.N. Relief and Works Agency," the refugee agency that Stefanik and others have accused of exploitation by Hamas, said The Wall Street Journal. Although negotiators are reportedly closing in on a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Stefanik could push for a "vote on the UN designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization," said the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Stefanik also voted against the April 2024 funding package for Ukraine in the House, and "called for pushing, quote, a maximum pressure campaign with Iran,' said NPR.

Ultimately, Stefanik's nomination could "redefine America's relationship with some of its longest allies," said The New Republic. The selection of someone who shares Trump's hardline stances in backing Israel and opposing Iran "appears to be a clear win for hardline hawks," as "factions in the Republican Party have been competing over the direction of Trump's foreign policy," said the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

The U.N. is "currently bracing for a shake-up" after Trump's victory in November, and Stefanik "does not shy away from sparring with liberals or railing against what she views as corruption or mismanagement," said Fox News. If Stefanik is confirmed — as expected — by the Senate, a special election will be held to fill her seat in the House.