WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump has named House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik as U.N. ambassador, according to an exclusive briefing his transition team provided to the New York Post on Sunday.
Trump told the conservative website Stefanik, a New York Republican, is an “extremely strong, tough and intelligent America First warrior.”
States Newsroom reached out to Trump’s transition team and Stefanik’s office for comment but did not receive a response.
Stefanik, an enthusiastic Trump surrogate, campaigned for the president-elect and was considered one of Trump’s potential vice presidential picks.
Stefanik came into the spotlight tardy last year when she led the escalating ouster of two university presidents after her questioned them about anti-Semitism on college campuses.
In June 2023, the New York Republican introduced a resolution to expunge Trump’s decision 2019 AND 2021 impeachment, but measures proposed with Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia made no progress.
Stefanik was a staunch defender of Trump in 2019 indictment of a government official triggered by Trump’s threat to withhold aid to Ukraine unless the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, investigates President Joe Biden, Trump’s then rival in the 2020 presidential race.
Stefanik rose, with Trump’s support, to the No. 3 2021 GOP conference chair position after the party ousted former Rep. Liz Cheney. Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, voted impeach Trump in 2021 following his refusal to admit defeat in the 2020 presidential election, which culminated in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Stefanik holds positions on the House Committees on Armed Services and Education and the Workforce. He also serves on the Select Committee on Intelligence.
U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise issued a statement on Monday calling Stefanik a “fantastic choice” for the job.
“I will miss Elise, who became a dear friend in the House and a respected leader as chairwoman of our Republican Conference. He is extremely qualified for this modern role in public service, and the House’s loss will be a huge gain for the Trump administration and the country. There is no one better to represent President Trump’s foreign policy and America’s values at the United Nations than Elise Stefanik,” the Louisiana Republican said.
He has control over the House not yet determined as vote counting continues in several races, but the split as of Monday is 214 Republicans and 203 Democrats, according to the Associated Press.
Stefanik wasn’t always a Trump supporter and voter against the 2017 tax bill signed by the then president.
Last updated: 11:47, November 11, 2024
