A Muslim advocacy group has responded to the election of New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations.

“I am honored to nominate President Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump said in a statement to the UN. New York Post on Sunday evening. “Elise is an incredibly strong, tough and smart America First fighter.”

Stefanik, chairman of the House Republican Conference, has long been among Trump’s most loyal allies in the House of Representatives and has reportedly been a potential vice presidential pick. Trump praised her aggressive questioning of three college presidents during a hearing on anti-Semitism on college campuses last year, amid protests against Israel’s war in Gaza in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Stefanik said in a statement to Newsweek that she is “truly honored” by Trump’s nomination and looks forward to “earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate.”

The “work ahead is enormous as we see anti-Semitism skyrocket, coupled with four years of catastrophically weak American leadership that has significantly weakened our national security and diminished our standing in the eyes of allies and adversaries alike,” she said. “I stand ready to advance President Donald J. Trump’s restoration of America First peace through strong leadership on the world stage on day one at the United Nations.”

Trump was also contacted by email for further comment.

Following the announcement, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the deputy executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said the organization disagrees with Stefanik’s appointment “given her hostility to freedom of expression and human rights” and encourages Trump to appoint foreign policy officials. who “always put American interests above the interests of any foreign government.”

“We encourage him to appoint foreign policy officials who respect freedom of expression, support human rights and always put American interests above the interests of any foreign government, including Netanyahu’s out-of-control government , plunging our nation into a war with Iran and wasting even more American taxpayer dollars on the genocidal war in Gaza,” Mitchell said in a statement to Newsweek.

Trump’s decision “to dismiss war hawks Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo is a promising step in the right direction,” he added. “While we disagree with the appointment of Representative Stefanik as UN Ambassador, given her hostility to freedom of expression and human rights, we will at least be spared from the pretensions and hypocrisy of the United Nations team from President Biden, who used the international body to defend human rights. human rights of Ukrainians, while the human rights of Palestinians are being violated.”

Trump said on Truth Social last week that he “will not invite” Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during his first term, or Pompeo, his secretary of state, to join his new administration.

Trump’s defeat by former Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election came after months of tensions with Arab-American and Muslim groups over President Joe Biden’s continued financial and military support for Israel.

While it is not clear how Trump will respond to Gaza, he offered strong support for Netanyahu’s hardline policies during his first term. During his campaign, Trump said Biden should let Netanyahu “finish” the job in Gaza and that he would bring peace to the region if returned to power.

Netanyahu said on Sunday that he has spoken with Trump three times in recent days and that they “agree on the Iranian threat and all its components.”

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza began after Hamas militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping about 250 others, according to the Associated Press. More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in the period since, the AP reported, citing Palestinian health officials. The war has roiled the Middle East and led to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and with Iran.

Update 12/24/11, 4:14 am ET: This article has been updated with further commentary from Edward Ahmed Mitchell and a statement from Elise Stefanik.