Stefanik pledges an 'America First' agenda at the UN and a review of US funding

WASHINGTON — (AP) — Rep. Elise Stefanik pledged Tuesday to push President Donald Trump's "America First" stance if confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and roll out a review of U.S. funding critical for U.N. operations and its many agencies around the world.

Noting that the U.S. is the largest single contributor to the United Nations, Stefanik said at her confirmation hearing that the country has to ensure its investments are making America safer, stronger and more prosperous — echoing Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"Our tax dollars should not be complicit in propping up entities that are counter to American interests, antisemitic, or engaging in fraud, corruption or terrorism,” Stefanik said in her opening remarks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

She stressed the need to reform the U.N., where several resolutions have passed condemning Israel over its war in Gaza. And she said it has not lived up to its founding mission after World War II to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

Lawmakers noted the ability for American rivals Russia and China to veto resolutions in the most powerful U.N. body, the Security Council, notably Moscow's blocking of any condemnation of its invasion of Ukraine.

Sen. Jim Risch, the Republican committee chairman, set the tone by sharply criticizing the U.N., saying Stefanik “can bring much-needed change.” He called for a reevaluation of every U.N. agency to determine if its actions benefit America – and if they don’t “hold them accountable until the answer is a resounding yes.”

“At this point, the U.S. should seriously examine if further contributions and, indeed, participation in the U.N. is even beneficial to the American people,” the Idaho lawmaker said.

The United States pays just over one-fifth of the U.N.’s regular budget, and Stefanik was questioned repeatedly about U.S. support for its multiple agencies, which tackle everything from health, education and migration to reproductive rights and nuclear proliferation.

The U.S. currently owes $1.5 billion to the U.N. regular budget and $1.3 billion almost entirely to the separate U.N. peacekeeping budget, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the committee, stressed the importance of America’s presence at the U.N., calling its work irreplaceable and warning that China and other adversaries could fill the vacuum if it takes a step back.

“We benefit from U.N. peacekeeping missions that would otherwise fall to the American military," the New Hampshire lawmaker said. "We are better off because of efforts to stabilize societies and provide lifesaving assistance in places like Sudan, Syria and Ukraine.”

Stefanik responded by saying she is open to reviewing agencies to ensure “that all of our taxpayer dollars are going to U.N. entities that function very well.” She pointed to the children’s agency UNICEF and the World Food Program as examples of those that are “effective.”

She said she supported Trump moving to pull U.S. funding from the U.N. World Health Organization in one of his first executive orders in office Monday, but also said the United States must remain "a leader on global health."

Stefanik, a fierce Trump ally who repeated his idea of "peace through strength," was asked about her views on a number of global issue, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine as well as the Iranian nuclear program — all items on the U.N. agenda.

She called Iran “the most significant threat to world peace.” She agreed with Democratic Sen. Chris Coons about supporting efforts to strengthen alliances, especially when it comes to countering China’s influence at the world body, even though Trump has been skeptical of such global partnerships, like NATO.

Asked by Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen about Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, Stefanik confirmed that her private comments to the senator about Israel having a "biblical right" to the occupied territory still stand. Her comments came after Trump rescinded the Biden administration's sanctions against Israeli settlers.

“I was interested in this position because if you look at the antisemitic rot within the United Nations, there are more resolutions targeting Israel than any other country, any other crisis combined,” Stefanik testified.

Harvard-educated and the fourth-ranking member of the U.S. House, Stefanik was elected to Congress in 2015 as a moderate Republican and became one of Trump's most ardent allies. She embraced Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as he denied he lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden.

Stefanik saw her profile rise after her aggressive questioning last year of a trio of university presidents about antisemitism on their campuses, leading to two of their resignations — a performance Trump repeatedly praised.

Stefanik most recently was the most senior and longest-serving woman on both the House Armed Services Committee and the coveted House committee that oversees national intelligence. Stefanik also was tapped to be on a select committee focused on strategic competition between the U.S. and China.

Born and raised in upstate New York, Stefanik worked in Bush’s White House on the domestic policy council and in the chief of staff’s office. She was the youngest person in her freshman class in Congress — just 30 — and ascended to the House leadership team in 2021, becoming the only woman.

Lederer reported from the United Nations.