Elected to Congress in 2014 at just 30 years old, Elise Stefanik has gradually established herself among Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters.
She made national headlines for her impetuous defense of the president during his first impeachment proceedings in 2019, then refused to certify the presidential election won in 2020 by Joe Biden.
Donald Trump wants to do without Senate approval for his appointments
More recently, in December 2023, she was the protagonist of a sequence that went viral on social networks, where we see her questioning in an extremely tense manner Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard University, about pro-Palestinian slogans heard on campus. Ms. Gay then resigned.
Elise Stefanik accused the UN in mid-October of “languishing in anti-Semitism”.
Strong support from Israel
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, congratulated Ms. Stefanik on Monday. “At a time when hatred and lies fill the halls of the UN, your resolute moral clarity is more necessary than ever,” he wrote.
In American political life, the post of United States Ambassador to the United Nations often serves as a springboard towards higher functions, as evidenced by the careers of Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, Susan Rice, advisor in National Security under Barack Obama, or even George Bush Sr., who became president.
Donald Trump also announced that he would entrust the burning issue of immigration control at the borders to Tom Homan, a hard-liner. Mr. Homan will be responsible for implementing the candidate’s promise to carry out the largest expulsion operation of illegal immigrants in the history of the United States.
Another “hawk,” Florida Representative Michael Waltz, will be named to the crucial post of national security adviser, the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal said Monday.
A veteran of the special forces, Mr. Waltz is known for his criticism of China.
Deregulate
The president-elect also appointed Lee Zeldin, another close friend of his, to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“He will ensure rapid and fair deregulation decisions are made that will boost the strength of American businesses, while maintaining the highest environmental standards,” explained the future Republican president.
Mr. Zeldin is also a former New York State Representative. “We will restore America’s energy leadership, revitalize our auto industry to bring back jobs to Americans, and make the United States the world leader in artificial intelligence. This while preserving access to clean water and air,” wrote the elected official on X.
The winner of the presidential election should finally appoint Stephen Miller as deputy director of his office, one of his close advisors since the time of his first successful campaign for the White House.
Bypass the Senate
Donald Trump has demonstrated his desire to bypass the laborious confirmation processes, by senators, of the people he appoints, despite the fact that the Republicans have regained control of the upper house of Congress.
To do this, he plans to use a clause that allows the president to make temporary appointments when the Senate is not in session.
“Any Republican senator interested in the coveted position of majority leader in the United States Senate must agree to (this clause), without which we will not be able to have people confirmed on time,” he said. writes Mr. Trump, who will be received at the White House on Wednesday by Joe Biden.
The 45th and soon 47th American president made his first major appointment on Thursday by choosing a woman, Susie Wiles, to head his cabinet.
Ms. Wiles was the architect of the Republican’s successful election campaign, which won 312 voters to Kamala Harris’s 226, and appears on track to capture a majority of the popular vote.
