Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the United Nations Ambassador, testifies during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing for her pending confirmation on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, in Washington. (AP photo — Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik laid out her plans for action with some of the world’s biggest and smallest countries as she testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. The full Senate is set to vote on potentially confirming her to be newly inaugurated President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Committee members clamored for her attention on conflicts around the world, asking her to address their concerns in places around the world.

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Russia and Ukraine

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Senators said the U.N. has been inconsistent on providing support for Ukraine, and even less on holding Russia accountable for its invasion of the country.

Stefanik said Trump campaigned on ending this war and that she has a strong record on deterring Russia. She’s voted against aid packages for Ukraine, though, saying she’ll only support sending lethal aid.

Stefanik said Trump’s presidency was the only one where Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t invade a foreign country. However, Russia had invaded the Donbas region of Ukraine in 2014 and had been fighting for control of this area throughout Trump’s presidency. Also, Russian attacks on Ukrainian ships occurred during Trump’s presidency, leading to escalations into the invasion. Stefanik believes the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021 make America look weak and led to the Russian invasion in 2022.

She plans to assess if the U.S. will continue supporting U.N. humanitarian support for the 7 million Ukrainian refugees outside the country and the 3.6 million displaced within the country.

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Israel and Palestine

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Stefanik has repeatedly said Israel is America’s “most precious ally.” She has lambasted the U.N. for what she sees as antisemitic actions, passing more resolutions targeting Israel than any other country or conflict combined.

The U.N. has a permanent agenda item to discuss alleged Israeli human rights abuses in Palestine at every session. Stefanik wants to remove this from the permanent agenda. She said this is unique to Israel and no other countries with documented human rights abuses have an item like this.

Stefanik said billions of dollars have been sent to Palestine, and that money has been “abused” by Hamas.

Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, asked Stefanik if she supports securing human rights and rights of self-determination for both Israel and Palestine.

“I support human rights for all,” Stefanik said, saying Hamas has stripped these rights from Palestine.

“Israel is standing up for human rights,” she added.

Van Hollen asked if Palestinians have the right of self-determination. He thought she said “yes” when they met in his office. On Tuesday, she said Palestinians “deserve better than Hamas.”

Stefanik believes Israel has a biblical right to the West Bank. Van Hollen said he was surprised when he heard this in his office and believes it will be difficult to achieve peace if she has that view, adding that the view was not held by the founders of Israel, who were secular, not religious, Zionists.

Stefanik would also like to remove the International Criminal Court’s liaison office from the U.N. New York City headquarters.

The U.S. is not a party to the ICC and Stefanik does not support the court because it’s targeted U.S. and Israeli military actions with accusations of war crimes.

Stefanik praised Trump for signing the Abraham Accords in his prior term in office, which seek to normalized relationships between Israel and the countries of United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. She’d like to start an Abraham Accords caucus expansion in the U.N. to include more countries.

Her presence in the UNSC, though maybe more hardline than current ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will likely have similarities to the current state of things regarding Israel’s war in Gaza. Several attempts by the U.N. to sanction Israel have been vetoed by the U.S.

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Antisemitism

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Stefanik was challenged on antisemitism by Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut.

“What do you think of Elon Musk, perhaps the president’s most visible advisor, doing two Heil Hitler salutes last night?” he asked, referring to a hand gesture the the richest man on Earth — a social media, vehicle, space and tech mogul — made at a Trump inauguration event on Monday.

“No, Elon Musk did not do those salutes,” Stefanik said. “(He) loves to cheer.”

She said Americans see through what Murphy was trying to do. Murphy read online posts from neo-Nazis reacting to the video.

“Holy crap … Did @elonmusk just Heil Hitler at the Trump Inauguration Rally in Washington D.C… This is incredible.” Evan Kilgore wrote on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, along with fire emojis. “We are so back.”

“White supremacist groups and neo-Nazi groups in this country rallied around that visual,” Murphy said. “Does it concern you that those elements of the neo-Nazi and white supremacist element in the United States believe that what they saw last night was a neo-Nazi salute?”

“What concerns me is these are the questions you believe are most important to ask to the U.N. ambassador,” Stefanik said.

She said she has a strong record on antisemitism.

Murphy said her work on antisemitism only comes with impact and credibility if it holds both right and left accountable, adding that he is worried about partisanship in her actions.

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Other countries

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There was a parade of countries and conflicts at the hearing. There are countless issues around the world which the U.N. has a hand in. Stefanik recognized that she has a great responsibility in what she speaks about on the world stage.

Stefanik said she would prioritize Sudan, where a war and famine are putting tens of millions in danger and in hunger. Corey Booker, D-New Jersey, called it the largest and fastest-growing humanitarian crisis in world.

Booker advocated for Stefanik to be focused on Africa, avert crises that destabilize regions and become fertile ground for terrorism.

“The continent of Africa is the future in terms of humanity,” he said. “One out of every four people on the planet Earth will be from the African continent by the year 2050. It seems that the Russians and the Chinese understand that because they are playing large and significant, and I would say a profoundly disrupting force there.”

Stefanik said the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon peacekeeping mission has not met its goal. It is supposed to allow no armed presence in southern Lebanon other than the Lebanese Armed Forces. But Hezbollah has expanded there.

She has previously condemned Bashar al-Assad’s human rights abuses in Syria. He was recently ousted and Stefanik wants to be “cautious” with the new leadership there. She is worried about adversaries filling that power vacuum and also doesn’t want another “regime of terror” there.

Stefanik said she could call for more sanctions on Iran, which has been enriching uranium for nuclear weapons. She hopes to reduce the world’s reliance on Iran’s oil by increasing American energy production. Iran also funds Hamas and Hezbollah.

Stefanik said the chaos in Haiti is “complex, and that there is “no simple solution” to the country’s violence.

She pledged to remain engaged with the Pacific island nations. They are geographically close to China and many have votes in the U.N.

She said the civil war in Myanmar needs to be among top priorities when it comes to standing up for human rights.

Stefanik agreed to maintaining a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.