Rep. Elise Stefanik’s Senate confirmation hearing to be the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations went smoothly on Tuesday, a departure from the frequent partisan tussles with Democrats common in her previous post as a top-ranking House Republican.
The Stefanik who appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was mostly a throwback to her earlier days on Capitol Hill, when she was for a time the youngest woman ever elected to Congress and impressed senior lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who saw her as a future leader: moderate, pragmatic and well-prepared.
Stefanik, R-N.Y., who has been in the House since 2015, appeared to be well-received by senators from both parties despite moments of tension with a few Democrats. If confirmed, she would be the first U.N. ambassador in more than two decades to come directly from Congress.
