Elise Stefanik is Staying in Congress. Why That's Bad News for the UN

Her sidelined nomination for UN ambassador could accelerate Trump’s disengagement from the United Nations.

Credit: EliseForCongress.com

Elise Stefanik was Donald Trump’s first cabinet pick. Before Pete Hegseth, before Marco Rubio, before Pam Bondi, Trump tapped Stefanik to serve in his cabinet as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Though she had scant foreign policy experience, Stefanik was an ur-Trump loyalist, skillfully transforming her persona from a normie, moderate Republican to ultra-MAGA. Trump rewarded this loyalty within days of his election by tapping her to represent him in Turtle Bay.

At this point, her confirmation hearing seems long ago—the big political controversy at the time was Elon Musk’s Nazi salute, which took place the night before. During her hearing, Stefanik conveyed mostly conventional Republican views towards the UN, emphasizing ways the institution could be reformed and streamlined, but not advocating any radical shift in U.S. policy. She has a reputation as a sharp-tongued partisan, but her comportment was ecumenical, and the views she expressed toward the UN and multilateralism were not far outside the mainstream. If the confirmation vote had been held soon after that hearing, she would surely have sailed through with bipartisan support.

But politics got in the way of that vote. She is a member of Congress from New York. If she had taken up her post at the UN, it would have left the GOP with the thinnest of majorities, potentially jeopardizing other Trump priorities. So, her nomination was withdrawn.

That move may give Republicans in Washington some relief. But for the UN, this is a potentially disastrous development.

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