President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations told senators at her confirmation hearing Tuesday that she will promote his doctrine of "peace through strength" on the world stage if she is confirmed.
"It is imperative to ensure strong American leadership at the United Nations," Elise Stefanik told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "I share President Trump's vision of a U.N. reformed by strong America First peace through strength and return to this founding mission of promoting peace and security around the world."
Stefanik, 40, from a rural New York district, has been in Congress for a decade and has served on national security related committees. As chair of the Republican Conference since 2021, she is the fourth-ranking House Republican but will have to step down if she is approved.
She appeared to have bipartisan support, with Democratic legislators largely posing standard foreign policy questions and avoiding partisan attacks.
China's influence
China's growing influence within the United Nations was at the top of lawmakers' concerns.
"China has used its malign influence to block attempts to discuss the Chinese government-sponsored genocide against the Uyghurs, and they have blocked our ally Taiwan from fully participating in the U.N.," committee chair Jim Risch of Idaho said. He also criticized Beijing for pushing its nationals into U.N. system jobs to serve its national interests.
Stefanik agreed that Beijing has made "significant inroads" at the world body and said Washington needs to push back on it with a "long-term strategy."
"Working closely with our allies and our partners, both at the most junior levels and at the more senior levels within the U.N., we need to make sure that we are running candidates – either American or allied nations – in the election process for key leadership posts within the U.N. system," she said.
Stefanik said efforts should focus on technical organizations such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – both organizations that until recently had been under the leadership of international civil servants from China. And she warned that the United States must be vigilant in protecting its ethical standards related to the use of artificial intelligence.
The United States is the single largest financial contributor to the United Nations, and several senators questioned whether U.S. taxpayers are still getting their money's worth from the organization. The nominee said she would seek to do an agency-by-agency audit of what U.S. funds are spent on and press for reforms including more transparency and accountability. She also had praise for agencies led by U.S. appointees, including the World Food Program and the U.N. children's agency, UNICEF.
"Stefanik's remarks signaled that the U.S. is going to be tough on the U.N., but not walk away from the organization altogether," said Richard Gowan, U.N. director for the International Crisis Group. "I actually think that quite a lot of her lines about the need to ensure the U.N. offers value for money will play well with other big donors to the organization, who are keen to control costs."
One of Trump's first executive orders on Monday was to notify the World Health Organization of his intention to withdraw the United States from the body – and with it the hundreds of millions of dollars it contributes to WHO's budget. Stefanik said she supported the move.
"WHO failed on a global stage in the COVID pandemic for all the world to see," she said.
Stefanik was most passionate about "our most precious ally" Israel and defending it from what she called "antisemitic rot" and bias at the United Nations.
"We need to be a voice of moral clarity on the U.N. Security Council and at the United Nations at large, for the world to hear the importance of standing with Israel, and I intend to do that," she said.
Asked by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen about her vision for "the day after" in Gaza, she said Trump is "uniquely positioned" to bring peace to the region, to eradicate Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, and protect Israel's national security.
Van Hollen pressed further, asking if she supports the view of far-right Israeli legislators who say Israel has a biblical right to the entire West Bank. Stefanik replied "yes."
Crisis Group's Gowan said that last comment might fuel "nervousness" among U.N. members that Trump could endorse an Israeli effort to annex parts of the Palestinian territories. But overall, he thinks international diplomats will have found her testimony reassuring.
"Especially after the whiplash effect of Trump disowning the Paris [climate] deal and World Health Organization during his first afternoon in office," he said.
No vote has been scheduled yet in the committee on her nomination. If Stefanik passes that hurdle, and she is widely expected to, then her nomination would go to the full Senate for a final vote.
