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Trump offers Rep. Elise Stefanik the role of U.N. ambassador, sources say
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Trump offers Rep. Elise Stefanik the role of U.N. ambassador, sources say



CNN

President-elect Donald Trump has offered Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik the job as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, two familiar sources told CNN on Sunday.

The New York congressman, the fourth-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, is a strong ally of the president-elect and a key fundraiser for the Republican Party.

CNN has reached out to Stefanik for comment.

Stefanik, chairman of the Republican Conference of the House of Representatives, has been one of Trump’s staunchest supporters in Congress for years. Her aggressive actions during his 2019 impeachment hearings made her a “Republican star,” as Trump himself said at the time. And again she stepped up for Trump after his 2020 defeat, when she objected to certifying President Joe Biden’s victory in the House of Representatives and promoted Trump’s false claims of election fraud.

But she wasn’t always Trump’s biggest fan: The New York Republican, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at the time of her first victory in 2014, voted against one of his signature legislative victories: his 2017 tax plan A self-described “independent voice” who had demonstrated a moderate streak, she had previously won high praise from former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who wrote in Time magazine that Stefanik was a “builder” – not an easy task at a time when so much of politics is about tearing people down.” She had worked for Ryan during Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign.

Once a Trump skeptic — and occasionally outright critic — during his 2016 presidential campaign and in the early days of his presidency, she shifted from detractor to defender — a move she said was due in part to the popularity of Trump in her district in upstate New York.

As Trump sought the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, she was among a handful of potential running mates, a role she openly competed for. She also told CNN earlier this year that she is “proud to be a top surrogate” and “would proudly serve in a future Trump administration.”

Stefanik replaced then-Rep. Liz Cheney as GOP conference chair in May 2021 after the Wyoming Republican exposed Trump’s election lies. She serves on the Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, among other positions. Stefanik made headlines last year with her campaign to oust university leaders who, as she and others saw it, failed to adequately address anti-Semitism during a House hearing on the issue.

Trump said in a social media post Saturday that he “will not invite” Nikki Haley, who served as U.N. ambassador under his first administration. Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, later waged a bitter primary campaign against Trump before dropping out and ultimately endorsing him months later.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Gregory Krieg, Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck, Kaanita Iyer and Jack Forrest contributed to this report.