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Capito Introduces U.N. Ambassador Nominee Elise Stefanik at Hearing

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., went before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday to introduce U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the United Nations. (Photo Courtesy of U.S. Senate)

CHARLESTON — One day after voting to approved one of the first cabinet nominees of President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito introduced Trump’s nominee to represent the U.S. at the United Nations to the committee considering her nomination.

Capito, R-W.Va., was one of two senators who provided an introduction to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday morning of U.S. Rep. Elisa Stefanik, R-N.Y., Trump’s nominee as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

“It is truly an honor to be here to introduce someone who I admire greatly,” Capito said. “The job she has been selected to carry out for President Trump is not an easy one, but it is extremely important.”

Trump nominated Stefanik as ambassador to the U.N. in November following his election to a second non-consecutive term as president. Stefanik was first elected to Congress in 2014. She has served on the House Armed Services Committee and as the ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats, and Capabilities. She has also served in the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

“As a member of both the Armed Services and Intelligence committee, she has shown an exceptional command of national security issues,” Capito said. “Elise understands the dangerous world and the growing threats that our country faces, and she has the strength and the skill to reassert U.S. leadership on the world stage, a world stage that needs moral clarity and leadership now more than ever.”

Stefanik served from 2021 to Jan. 3 as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference. When she was first elected, Stefanik was the youngest woman elected to Congress.

“The United Nations is a tough place. Well, Elise is from New York. Elise has never backed down from a challenge,” Capito said.

Stefanik served in the administration of former President George W. Bush as a member of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council and in the chief of staff’s office. She helped advise several Republican presidential candidates over the years and worked for the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the Foreign Policy Initiative.

“Her steady hand and genuine caring nature combined with her fierce intellect will bring exactly that person that President Trump and our nation needs at the United Nations,” Capito said. “I look forward to voting to support her when I have the chance.”

The U.N. has been a frequent lightning rod for Republicans for decades, who criticize the institution for antisemitism and hostility towards Israel, and for being too friendly with totalitarian regimes.

“In its early formation, it was believed that the United Nations required U.S. leadership in both its creation and in the actual business of the organization to prevent conflict and to advance freedom,” Capito said. “But lately, when many of us look at the United Nations, this body that is meant to advance values of peace and freedom and human dignity, we don’t see those American values reflected.

“It is clear that the need to reestablish U.S. leadership at this broken institution, we need to do that,” Capito continued. “I cannot think of anyone more qualified or more ready to fulfill that role than my friend, Elise Stefanik.”

The Senate is empowered to provide advice and consent to presidential cabinet nominees. The Senate voted unanimously Monday night to confirm former Florida senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state.

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a hearing Tuesday to vet former Georgia congressman Doug Collins. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is expected to take up the nominations Thursday of natural gas businessman Chris Wright for the Department of Energy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Bergum for the Department of the Interior. The Senate Armed Services Committee has already advanced the nomination of veteran and Fox News personality Pete Hegseth for Department of Defense.

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