Thursday, 12 December 2024

REPORT: President Trump Selects His UN Ambassador


The New York Post confirmed President Trump selected Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to be his United Nations ambassador.

“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump told the New York Post Sunday night.

From the New York Post:

Stefanik, the No. 4 House Republican, has been a close Trump ally, including serving on his ceremonial defense team in 2020 during his first impeachment trial for pressuring Ukraine to investigate alleged Biden family corruption.

The Harvard grad worked to turn the tables on what she called the “Biden Crime Family” and has regularly appeared on TV to drive home the Republican positions on issues — setting up a likely a contrast from the outgoing UN ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who rarely courted media attention.

“I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Stefanik said in a statement confirming her acceptance of the role.

“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.”

Per CNN:

The choice of Stefanik signals a more combative US posture toward the UN. Stefanik has frequently criticized the international organization, particularly over its criticism of Israel, and last month said the Biden administration should consider a “complete reassessment” of US funding for the UN if the Palestinian Authority continues to pursue a push to revoke Israel’s UN membership.

Stefanik, the House Republican Conference chair, has for years been one of Trump’s staunchest supporters in Congress. Her aggressive performance during his 2019 impeachment hearings made her a “Republican star,” as Trump himself said at the time. And again she stepped up for Trump after his 2020 defeat, when she objected to certifying President Joe Biden’s win in the House and promoted Trump’s false claims about election fraud.

But she wasn’t always Trump’s biggest fan: The New York Republican, who was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at the time of her first win in 2014, voted against one of his signature legislative victories – his 2017 tax plan. A self-styled “independent voice” who had evinced a moderate persona, she’d previously won high praise from former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who wrote in Time magazine that Stefanik was a “builder – no easy feat in an age when so much of politics is about tearing people down.” She’d worked for Ryan during Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign.

Once a Trump skeptic — and occasional outright critic — during his 2016 presidential campaign and into the early days of his presidency, she shifted from detractor to defender — a move she explained was due in part due to Trump’s popularity in her upstate New York district.


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