Trump Names U.N. Ambassador Who Will Wreck Gaza to Unseen Levels
Donald Trump has nominated a new ambassador to the United Nations—and she’s as pro-Israel as it gets.
Elise Stefanik is continuing her ascent through Trumpworld.
President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly tapped the House Republican Conference chair to serve as the next ambassador to the United Nations, a decision that could redefine America’s relationship with some of its longest allies.
“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump said in a statement obtained by CNN. “Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.”
Stefanik, a longtime critic of the international organization, won reelection in New York’s 21st congressional district on Tuesday while campaigning as a staunch defender of Israel in its war on Gaza. That includes defending Israel’s decision to eliminate humanitarian aid from the region. In a statement last week, Stefanik heralded Israel’s decision to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, from operating in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, claiming that the 74-year-old aid program “instills antisemitic hate in Palestinians” and “houses weapons for terrorists.”
She also called on the United States to defund the refugee program, criticizing the Biden administration for issuing “$1 billion to UNRWA since 2021.” (The U.S. has received international condemnation for being the lone holdout on aid since Israel accused 19 UNRWA staff members of participating in the October 7, 2023, attack. An independent report published in April found no evidence and was supplied no evidence by the Israeli government supporting the allegations.)
Stefanik has called for a “complete reassessment of U.S. funding of the United Nations” after the Palestinian Authority attempted in October to expel Israel from the organization for alleged war crimes and human rights abuses.
At the time of her first win in 2014, she was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She’s since proved to be one of Trump’s staunchest defenders, making a name for herself in 2019 for her impassioned defenses of the MAGA leader during his first impeachment trial and later refusing to certify the 2020 election results, elevating lies that the Biden-Trump race had been stolen.
But she hasn’t always sided with the MAGA leader. In 2017, Stefanik voted against Trump’s tax plan, one of his signature legislative victories.