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Trump offers Elise Stefanik role as U.N. ambassador

HIROKO MASUIKE/THE NEW YORK TIMES
                                Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) campaigns for former President Donald Trump, then the Republican presidential nominee, during a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27. Trump, now the president-elect, has offered Stefanik the role of United Nations ambassador in his upcoming administration, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

HIROKO MASUIKE/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) campaigns for former President Donald Trump, then the Republican presidential nominee, during a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27. Trump, now the president-elect, has offered Stefanik the role of United Nations ambassador in his upcoming administration, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

President-elect Donald Trump has offered Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the role of U.N. ambassador in his upcoming administration.

Stefanik, who represents an upstate New York district in the House and is a member of the Republican leadership in the chamber, has been a vocal supporter of Trump. His decision to name her to the post was reported earlier by CNN.

Stefanik has accepted the offer, her office said.

Stefanik, 40, emerged as a key ally to Trump during his first impeachment proceeding. She has been chair of the House Republican conference, but she has minimal experience in foreign policy and national security. She has served on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

She has been an outspoken supporter of Israel, and had a high-profile role in the congressional hearings that led to the resignations of several university presidents over their handling of campus unrest following the terror attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip.

She also impressed Trump years ago with an outspoken defense of him during his first impeachment trial in the House.

In a statement, Trump called her a “strong, tough and smart America First fighter.”

House Republicans appear on track to win a narrow majority in the incoming Congress. Stefanik’s departure could make their margin even thinner until an election to replace her is held in what is considered a safe district for the party.

It’s not yet clear whether Trump will be able to raid the House for his loyalists who serve there. Republicans are currently on track to keep their majority, but only by the similar razor-thin margin they have now, which has made it difficult to control the floor. Next year, they will be expected to produce major legislative results as a result of the party’s unified power in Washington.

Stefanik, the first Trump ally from the House who has been announced as a Cabinet pick, has long been positioning herself to rise in a Trump administration. But her situation may be particularly difficult. In New York state, Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, would most likely wait as long as possible to call a special election to fill her seat.

Elon Musk, the billionaire and major Trump supporter, made clear on the social platform X that he had reservations about her appointment, based on the tight margin of control he is expecting in the House.

“Elise is awesome, but it might be too dicey to lose her from the House, at least for now,” Musk wrote.

Her selection comes after Trump last week named Susie Wiles, a longtime political operative who helped lead his campaign, as his White House chief of staff. On Sunday evening, Trump named Thomas Homan, an immigration hard-liner, to be his “border czar.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2024 The New York Times Company

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