Senate Committee Aims to Hold Hearings With Rubio, Stefanik on Jan. 15, 16

The U.S. Capitol building grounds in Washington on Jan. 7, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

WASHINGTON—The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is aiming to hold hearings on President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for secretary of the State Department and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16, respectively, a committee spokesperson told The Epoch Times on Jan. 7.

Trump’s pick to be the nation’s top diplomat is Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Trump’s U.N. pick is Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).

Trump announced Stefanik as his pick on Nov. 11. In a statement, he called her a staunch advocate of his and the first member of Congress to endorse his 2024 presidential campaign. He then mentioned her leadership in combating anti-Semitism on college campuses as a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee.

Stefanik said that combating anti-Semitism at the United Nations will be a priority for her.

During a dinner for a pro-Israel organization in November 2024, she called the U.N. “a den of anti-Semitism.”

“The work ahead is immense as we see antisemitism skyrocketing,” she said in a Nov. 11 statement, adding that over the past four years, U.S. national security has been weakened, which has diminished the narion’s standing “in the eyes of both allies and adversaries.”

“I stand ready to advance President Donald J. Trump’s restoration of America First peace through strength leadership on the world stage on Day One at the United Nations,” she continued.

At the November 2024 dinner for the Endowment for Middle East Truth, she said, “Ever since and even before the barbaric terrorist attacks [from] Hamas on Oct. 7, the U.N. has continuously betrayed Israel and betrayed America, acting as an apologist for Iran and their terrorist proxies.”

Stefanik, who has been in Congress since 2015, went viral for her questioning of college and university presidents, criticizing them over their handling of anti-Semitism on their campuses in the wake of the Hamas terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Since appearing before the House committee in 2024, the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, Columbia University, and Rutgers University have all resigned.

Stefanik already has bipartisan support, as at least one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), has said he will support her nomination.

Meanwhile, Trump announced on Nov. 13, 2024, that Rubio is his pick to lead the State Department.

In a statement, he called Rubio “a highly respected leader, and a very powerful voice for freedom” and said that “he will be a strong advocate for our nation, a true friend to our allies, and a fearless warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.”

Rubio, in a Nov.13 statement, said that he is honored to lead the department, which he called “a tremendous responsibility.”

“As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda,” he said.

“Under the leadership of President Trump, we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) speaks during a press conference in the U.S. Capitol on July 11, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Rubio, the son of immigrants who fled communist Cuba, sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will hold his nomination hearing.

Rubio, who has been in the Senate since 2011, unsuccessfully ran against Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

Rubio also already has support from both sides of the aisle.

Fetterman said he would support Rubio’s nomination, and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) called the pick “the right decision.”