Trump Nominates Elise Stefanik as UN Ambassador

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump has selected Rep. Elise Stefanik to be the United States ambassador to the United Nations.

“Elise is an exceptionally strong, determined, and intelligent America First advocate,” Trump said in a statement Monday announcing his selection.

Nikki Haley, who challenged Trump for the Republican nomination, was one of those who previously held the position in his first term.

Stefanik, 40, who serves as the House Republican Conference Chair, has been one of Trump’s most steadfast allies in the House, and was considered as a possible vice presidential candidate.

Born and raised in upstate New York, Stefanik graduated from Harvard and worked in former President George W. Bush’s White House on the domestic policy council and in the chief of staff’s office.

In 2014, at 30, she became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, representing upstate New York. She later became the youngest woman to serve in House leadership.

Stefanik was known early in her career as a more moderate conservative voice. But she soon aligned herself with the former president, quietly transforming her image into that of a staunch MAGA supporter — and witnessing her influence grow.

She became the House Republican Conference Chair in 2021.

Stefanik has spent years positioning herself as one of Trump’s most trusted allies and advisors on Capitol Hill. She endorsed him in the 2024 race before he even announced his candidacy, and actively campaigned on his behalf during the Republican primary.

Her profile increased after her forceful questioning of a group of university presidents about anti-Semitism on campus resulted in two of their resignations — a performance Trump repeatedly praised.

She also defended him vigorously in both of his impeachment trials and condemned his four criminal indictments, including filing an ethics complaint in New York against the judge who presided over his civil fraud case.