Trump Considering Former Ambassadors for United Nations Role

The president recently withdrew the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Kennedy Center Board of Trustees President Richard Grenell (L) with President Donald Trump in Washington on March 17, 2025. Jim Watson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump is considering two former U.S. ambassadors to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, among about 32 people who have said they would like the position.

“We have a lot of people that have asked about it, and would like to do it,” Trump told reporters at the White House in Washington on March 31. “David Friedman, Ric Grenell, and maybe 30 other people.”

He added: “Everyone loves that position. That’s a star-making position.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) was Trump’s first choice to take the U.N. role. However, he withdrew Stefanik’s nomination on March 27, citing Republicans’ narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest Allies, to remain in Congress to help me deliver Historic Tax Cuts, GREAT Jobs, Record Economic Growth, a Secure Border, Energy Dominance, Peace Through Strength, and much more, so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump wrote on his social media website, Truth Social.

Friedman, 66, was the U.S. ambassador to Israel during Trump’s first term. Friedman helped with negotiations that led to the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements between Israel and several other countries in the Middle East. For his work, Friedman was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Grenell, 58, served in multiple positions during Trump’s first term, including U.S. ambassador to Germany. Grenell helped negotiate agreements between Kosovo and Serbia, resulting in his receiving a presidential medal from Kosovo’s president.

While Friedman does not currently have a position in the Trump administration, Grenell was recently named president and interim executive director of the Kennedy Center, a performing arts venue in Washington. Grenell is also Trump’s envoy for special missions.

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is the head of the U.S. Mission to the U.N., the United States’ delegation to the international body. The ambassador negotiates with other countries and delivers speeches, among other work.

Grenell told Newsmax in March that being U.S. ambassador to the U.N. “is not something that I want to do.”

Also on Monday, Trump said he plans to visit the Middle East, which would be his first foreign trip since he started his second term.

“I have a very good relationship with the Middle East,” the president said.

Trump said the trip would take him to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The United Arab Emirates might also be on the schedule.

The trip could take place in April, or perhaps later, he said.

Trump’s first foreign trip in his first term was to the Middle East, with stops in Saudi Arabia and Israel.