President-elect Trump’s nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations sets the stage for one of the organization’s most vocal and combative critics to have a powerful seat at its table.

Stefanik, 40, the fourth-ranking House Republican and a devoted Trump loyalist, has little foreign policy experience. But she has built a reputation over the last year as a leading champion of Israel, in part by repeatedly hammering the U.N. for its reproach of the country's military response to last year’s attacks by Hamas. In September, she accused the organization of being infected by “antisemitic rot.”

Her nomination as America’s top envoy to the U.N. sends an early signal that Trump intends to side squarely with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a conservative Trump ally who has ignored President Biden’s calls for a regional cease-fire, as the Middle Eastern conflict expands and intensifies.

The posting also sends a broader message to the world that Trump’s “America First” approach — which envisions a shrinking role for the United States in world diplomacy and global affairs — is likely to reign supreme in his second term.

That strategy is likely to surface most prominently in Ukraine, where Trump has declined to commit more military support as Kyiv continues the years-long battle against Russia’s invading forces. Stefanik called for “devastating action” to defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin early in the war, but voted against a multibillion-dollar aid package to Ukraine earlier this year.

In accepting the nomination........

© The Hill