A Muslim advocacy group has responded to President-elect Donald Trump choosing New York Representative Elise Stefanik to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations.
"I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations," Trump said in a statement to the New York Post on Sunday night. "Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter."
Stefanafik, the House Republican Conference Chair, has long been among Trump's most loyal allies in the House and was reportedly a potential vice presidential pick. Trump praised her aggressive questioning of three university presidents during a hearing on antisemitism on college campuses last year amid protests against Israel's war in Gaza in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
Stefanik told the Post she was "truly honored" by Trump's nomination and looks forward to "earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate." Trump and Stefanik have been contacted for further comment via email.
After the announcement, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the deputy executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told Newsweek that the organization encourages Trump to nominate foreign policy officials who "always put American interests over the interests of any foreign government."
"We encourage him to nominate foreign policy officials who respect free speech, support human rights, and always put American interests over the interests of any foreign government, including [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's out-of-control government, which wants to bait our nation into a war with Iran and waste more American taxpayer dollars on its genocidal war in Gaza," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said CAIR "welcomed President-Elect Trump's decision to not nominate war hawks Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo to any positions."
Trump said on Truth Social last week that he "will not be inviting" Haley, who was ambassador to the United Nations during his first term, or Pompeo, his Secretary of State, to join his incoming administration.
Trump's defeat of former Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday's election came after months of tensions with Arab American and Muslim groups over President Joe Biden's ongoing financial and military support to Israel.
While it's not clear how Trump will respond on Gaza, he had offered strong support for Netanyahu's hardline policies during his first term. During his campaign, Trump said Biden should let Netanyahu "finish the job" in Gaza and that he would bring peace to the region if he returned to office.
Netanyahu said on Sunday he has spoken to Trump three times in recent days and that they "see eye-to-eye regarding the Iranian threat and all of its components."
Israel's military offensive in Gaza began after Hamas militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 Israelis and abducting about 250 others, according to Israeli authorities, per the Associated Press. More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in the year since, the AP reported, citing Palestinian health officials. The war has roiled the Middle East, setting off fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and with Iran.
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