President-elect Donald Trump offered Rep. Elise Stefanik the job of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and the New York Republican accepted the offer, a source close to the presidential transition confirmed to CBS News.
The New York Post was first to report the development, with statements from Trump and Stefanik. CNN also reported the news, citing two sources.
“I am honored to nominate President Elise Stefanik to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in my Cabinet. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart fighter for America First,” Trump said in a statement to the newspaper.
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Stefanik confirmed his acceptance of the role in a statement to The Post.
“I am truly honored to have been nominated by President Trump to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Stefanik said. “During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate.”
The position requires Senate confirmation.
Stefanik, a vocal and loyal Trump ally and the No. 4 Republican in the House of Representatives Chairman of the House Republican Conferencewould take on a role that Nikki Haley held during the first Trump administration.
The former South Carolina governor sought the GOP presidential nomination during the just-concluded election season and threw her support behind Trump after dropping out of the race. Haley said she was “on hold” to go on the campaign trail on his behalf, but that didn’t happen.
Stefanik spoke at Trump’s controversial Madison Square Garden rally in late October.
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Stefanik was among the toughest in asking questions of three university presidents who testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce last December on how they handled anti-Semitic incidents on their campuses following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7.
Many Republican lawmakers have insisted they are not doing enough to root out and denounce anti-Jewish sentiments.
Claudine Gay of Harvard University, Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania and Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology appeared before the panel. The presidents said they disdain anti-Semitic remarks but also value free speech.
Ultimately, Gay and Magill resigned.
Late Gomez
