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Trump Taps Stefanik to Be UN Ambassador

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) reacts at a press conference at the Republican National Committee after a meeting with former President Donald Trump and the House Republican Conference, in Washington, US, June 13, 2024. (Reuters)
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) reacts at a press conference at the Republican National Committee after a meeting with former President Donald Trump and the House Republican Conference, in Washington, US, June 13, 2024. (Reuters)
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Trump Taps Stefanik to Be UN Ambassador

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) reacts at a press conference at the Republican National Committee after a meeting with former President Donald Trump and the House Republican Conference, in Washington, US, June 13, 2024. (Reuters)
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) reacts at a press conference at the Republican National Committee after a meeting with former President Donald Trump and the House Republican Conference, in Washington, US, June 13, 2024. (Reuters)

Donald Trump has chosen Republican Representative Elise Stefanik to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations, the president-elect said in a statement shared with Reuters on Monday.

"I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as US Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter," Trump said.

Stefanik, 40, a New York representative and House Republican Conference chair, has been a fierce Trump ally.

She could not be immediately reached for comment.

The United Nations has been planning for Trump's return and the cuts to US funding and engagement with the world body that are likely to come with his second term as president.

A US retreat at the UN could open the door for China, which has been building its influence in global diplomacy.

Trump has offered few specifics about foreign policy in his second term but supporters say the force of his personality and his "peace through strength" approach will help bend foreign leaders to his will. He has vowed to solve the war in Ukraine and is expected to give strong support to Israel in its conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and southern Lebanon.

Among the top concerns at the UN are whether the United States will decide to contribute less money to the 193-member world body and withdraw from key multinational institutions and agreements, including the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement.

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon congratulated Stefanik on her nomination on Monday. "At a time when hate and lies fill the halls of the UN, your unwavering moral clarity is needed more than ever. Wishing you success in standing firm for truth and justice," he said in a post on social media platform X.

Stefanik took a Republican leadership position in the House of Representatives in 2021 when she was elected to replace Liz Cheney, who was ousted for criticizing Trump's continued false claims of election fraud.

Her first turn in the national limelight came when she mounted an impassioned defense of Trump at his first impeachment trial in 2019, leading the then-president to declare that "a star is born."

Stefanik was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she first won her district, which had voted twice for Democratic President Barack Obama and had been represented by Democrats in Congress since 1993.

She was seen as a potential vice president pick for Trump before he selected J.D. Vance.

Trump said on Saturday that former Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley will not be asked to join his administration.

Haley served as the US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump during his previous term and had endorsed Trump for president despite having criticized him harshly when she ran against him in the party primaries.

Trump is meeting with potential candidates to serve in his administration before his Jan. 20 inauguration as president.

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Evacuations and Call for Aid as Typhoon Usagi Approaches Philippines

A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
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Evacuations and Call for Aid as Typhoon Usagi Approaches Philippines

A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)

The Philippines ordered evacuations Wednesday ahead of Typhoon Usagi's arrival, as the UN's disaster office sought $32.9 million in aid for the country after recent storms killed more than 150 people.

The national weather service said Usagi -- the archipelago's fifth major storm in three weeks -- would likely make landfall Thursday in Cagayan province on the northeast tip of main island Luzon.

Provincial civil defense chief Rueli Rapsing said mayors had been ordered to evacuate residents in vulnerable areas, by force if necessary, as the 120 kilometers (75 miles) an hour typhoon bears down on the country.

"Under (emergency protocols), all the mayors must implement the forced evacuation, especially for susceptible areas," he told AFP, adding as many as 40,000 people in the province lived in hazard-prone areas.

The area is set to be soaked in "intense to torrential" rain on Thursday and Friday, which can trigger floods and landslides with the ground still sodden from recent downpours, state weather forecaster Christopher Perez told reporters.

He urged residents of coastal areas to move inland due to the threat of storm surges and giant coastal waves up to three meters (nine feet) high, with shipping also facing the peril of 8–10-meter waves.

A sixth tropical storm, Man-yi, is expected to strengthen into a typhoon before hitting the center of the country as early as Friday, Perez said.

With more than 700,000 people forced out of their homes, the successive storms have taken a toll on the resources of both the government and local households, the UN said late Tuesday.

About 210,000 of those most affected by recent flooding need support for "critical lifesaving and protection efforts over the next three months", the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

"Typhoons are overlapping. As soon as communities attempt to recover from the shock, the next tropical storm is already hitting them again," UN Philippines Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez said.

"In this context, the response capacity gets exhausted and budgets depleted."

The initiative "will help us mobilize the capacities and resources of the humanitarian community to better support government institutions at national, regional and local levels," Gonzalez added.

More than 28,000 people displaced by recent storms are still living in evacuation centers operated by local governments, the country's civil defense office said in its latest tally.

Government crews were still working to restore downed power and communication lines and clearing debris from roads.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the archipelago nation or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people and keeping millions in enduring poverty.

A recent study showed that storms in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change.