New US ambassador to the UN vows to implement Trump’s agenda 

Republican Elise Stefanik testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on her nomination to be Ambassador to the United Nations on Capitol Hill on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. 2025 Getty Images

Elise Stefanik has been confirmed as Donald Trump's nominee for United States ambassador to the United Nations. She said she will make sure that every taxpayer dollar that flows into the UN serves "American interests".  

It is not unusual for protestors from across the political spectrum to pop up from their seats during confirmation hearings to blurt out their grievances only to be dragged from the room, arms and legs flailing, by security. 

But earlier this week, during Elise Stefanik’s confirmation hearing, the only disrupter pulled from the room, wearing a smart-looking dark blue suit and tie, was her fidgety three-year-old son Sam. 

“He has made his debut in the Senate,” said Stefanik, referring to the mini rabble-rouser as her “pride and joy” and “greatest blessing.” 

Stefanik, President Donald Trump’s nominee for United States ambassador to the United Nations, appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week seeking confirmation.  

Despite her robust CV, which includes being the youngest woman ever elected to the US Congress in 2014 and an Ivy League education, Stefanik, if confirmed, comes to the UN with no diplomatic experience and scant knowledge of the many intricacies of the global body.  

She will be tasked with implementing Donald’s Trump vision for how the United States plans to renegotiate multilateralism. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO), a move that Stefanik said she supported.  

“If confirmed, I stand ready to implement President Trump’s mandate from the American people to deliver America First, peace through strength, national security leadership on the world stage,” Stefanik said in her opening remarks.  

“When the United States takes a leadership role at the UN, Americans and people around the world are better off.” 

Trump, recently sworn in to take on his second term as US president, said he picked Stefanik for the role because she is “incredibly strong, tough, and a smart America First fighter”. Stefanik caught the President’s attention during his first impeachment hearing in 2019, where, after sparring with her Democratic colleagues, he referred to her on X as the “new Republican star”. 

On social media, Stefanik, a staunch Trump loyalist, describes herself as “ultra-MAGA”, referring to the president’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again”.  

Stefanik’s star skyrocketed in December 2023 for her combative performance during congressional hearings targeting anti-Semitism on university campuses, resulting in the ousting of several Ivy League presidents from Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia. The goal of these hearings is to inform the public on matters, both public and within the halls of government that could impact their lives.  

“My oversight work led to the most viewed testimony in the history of Congress,” said Stefanik during her confirmation hearing. The “watershed moment” was “viewed billions of times” because it exposed the anti-Semitic rot in colleges and universities”.  

Stefanik, 40, a Republican from rural, upstate New York – which she referred to as the “cradle of the American revolution” – was the youngest woman ever elected to the US Congress in 2014. She has served on several national security committees and proudly touts that she was the first person in her immediate family to attend university. She graduated from Harvard in 2006.  

Stefanik acknowledged her lack of experience during her hearing but said she is ready to take on the challenge. I’m ready to “roll up my sleeves” and “get it done”, she said.   

Elise Stefanik holds her son Sam as the House votes for Speaker of the House on the first day of the 119th Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. Rep. 2025 Getty Images

Delivering for the American people 

UN reform is at the top of Stefanik’s to-do list, ensuring that every taxpayer dollar that flows into the global body serves “American interests, American people and Trump’s peace through strength” policies. Since its inception, the US has been the UN’s top funder, providing upwards of $18 million (CHF16.2 million) in 2022 alone, according to the Council of Foreign Relations, External linkan American think-tank based in New York.  

The previous Trump administration had cut spending on voluntary contributions to many UN programmes, targeting peacekeeping operations and several specialised agencies. This included suspending all funding for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2017, and reducing funding for the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in 2018.  

The US also pulled out of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council. She did not mention whether the US would remain a member during her hearing.  

Stefanik, who “absolutely” voted to defund the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) – which she described as an “anti-Semitic organisation” – said she is keen to bump up funding for organisations that “strengthen national security” and have “the support of the American people” such as the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).  

Stefanik said that when deciding on UN reform initiatives, she would ask, “Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger and does it make America more prosperous?” 

Pushing back and weeding out 

Based on her confirmation hearing, it is clear that Stefanik will keep a sharp eye on what the US sees as China’s growing dominance at the UN. To “push back” – a phrase she used repeatedly – she said her mission’s focus would be on “staying in the rooms” where China’s influence appears to be growing, including in the UN’s “technical organisations telecommunications, intellectual property and civil aviation,” groups.  

“China is one of my top priorities,” said Stefanik. We have to make sure “we have the strategy to ensure that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is not able to make inroads at the most senior levels of these technical organisations and of agencies across the UN writ large.” 

Advocating for Israel and weeding out “anti-Semitic rot” and anti-Israel bias” at the UN is one of the main reasons Stefanik said she was interested in taking on the ambassadorship. “There are more resolutions targeting Israel than any other country, any other crisis combined,” said Stefanik. Once at the UN, she vowed to be a “voice of moral clarity on the UN Security Council and at the United Nations at large, for the world to hear the importance of standing with Israel … our most precious ally”. 

While Stefanik’s interactions with her colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were mostly calm and cordial, a moment of tension crept in when Chris Van Hollen, a Democratic senator from the state of Maryland, asked Stefanik if she believed Palestinians had the right to self-determination and she hesitated to answer. “I believe in peace in the region,” said Stefanik, “of course they deserve human rights.” 

Also eyebrow-raising for some was when Van Hollen asked Stefanik if she believed Israel had a biblical right to the entire West Bank. She replied with a quick “Yes.” 

Diplomacy or deterrence 

How far the Trump administration will pull back from multilateralism and the UN remains unclear. But a complete withdraw from the global body appears unlikely. 

But whatever reforms Trump pursues, it appears he will likely have a loyal executor in Stefanik, who vowed to uphold Trump’s vision of a “UN reformed by strong America first peace through strength”, policies.  

However, whether Stefanik will rely heavily on diplomacy to achieve the administration’s goals remains to be seen. When asked by a Republican colleague how she would handle an adversary like Russia, one of the five permanent members that sits on the Security Council with veto power, Stefanik leaned towards force. 

“I think deterrence is key. It’s our strongest way to ensure that we have peace,” said Stefanik. “I’m a deep believer in deterrence,” she said, adding that “diplomacy is very important as well”. 

Edited by Virginie Mangin/ts