It was a moment that vaulted New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to prominence on the national stage and won her the admiration of MAGA Republicans.
As House Democrats pursued impeachment against President Donald Trump during his first term in the White House, Stefanik aggressively mounted a defense of the president, with pointed questioning at impeachment hearings.
If confirmed in coming weeks by the U.S. Senate as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Stefanik is expected to bring that same kind of fierce advocacy to the global stage, again in support of Trump — a president who has shown little interest in or patience for the very multilateral diplomacy the U.N. represents.
“On the bully pulpit side, she's good at formulating messages, at getting attention, at framing issues,” Jon Alterman, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said. Alterman said he would not be surprised if Stefanik made headlines in the role.
However, he noted, “The biggest challenge is she's representing somebody who a lot of countries are afraid of, a lot of countries quietly want to undermine.”
Stefanik herself has proven to be a critic of the U.N., arguing it needs reform and decrying what she has called “antisemitic rot” at the organization.
Antisemitism, in particular, is an issue where Stefanik has shown herself to be comfortable going on the attack, notably sparring with university heads at congressional hearings.
Experts note Stefanik would not be the first ambassador to treat the U.N. as a whipping boy.
John Bolton did so in the early aughts as U.N. ambassador under former President George W. Bush. And well before that, Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s profile rose when he attacked a resolution on Zionism at the U.N., helping pave the way for him to become the U.S senator from New York.
In the end, Stefanik’s calls for reform at the international organization may prove difficult to carry out.
“She may think Congress is bureaucratized, but wait till she gets to New York,” Michael Barnett, who teaches in the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, said.
But for a politician fast on the rise, the job alone will check the international operator box Stefanik is currently missing on her resume — much as it did for South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as U.N. ambassador during Trump’s first term, laying a foundation for her presidential campaign last year.
“Going to New York, beating up the U.N. for a while, and making it clear that also you've learned how to deal on a world stage — these are perfect ways then to sharpen your bonafides as you turn back to the American public,” Barnett said.
The Senate Foreign Relations committee is expected to advance her nomination Thursday, setting up a vote in the full U.S. Senate in coming weeks.
She is expected to be confirmed, potentially with bipartisan support.