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Elise Stefanik
Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

‘Christmas Dinner for us is homemade raviolis’: What is Elise Stefanik’s ethnicity?

The politician went from Trump critic to hardcore supporter.

Watching the events of President Trump’s second term is shaping up to be America’s greatest reality TV show. It’s only been two days, but the President has already made some choices that have the entire country split. Besides all the executive orders he’s been passing, Trump’s anti-immigration policies are continuing to raise eyebrows, particularly as he is still assembling his cabinet of unique personalities.

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The latest member just had her confirmation hearing, and here’s everything you need to know about Elise Stefanik, President Trump’s pick for the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

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Elise Stefanik is an interesting political figure. She was once known as a moderate conservative but, in the last few years, her ideology has shifted significantly to the right, especially as she has become more aligned with President Trump. When she was first elected to Congress in 2014, she became the youngest woman to be elected to Congress at age 30. 

She attended Harvard University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Government. She also worked as an aide in the Bush administration before running for Congress. While Stefanik showed support for Trump during his first presidential campaign, she also wasn’t afraid to criticize him publicly. She spoke against his plans to build a wall separating Mexico and the U.S. and called his comments on the  Washington Post’s Access Hollywood tape “wrong.”

However, she started to become a hardcore Trumper in 2019 during his first impeachment hearing. That was only the beginning of her hard shift into right-wing politics, leading to her now being chosen as the U.N. ambassador. Stefanik is probably best known recently for her intense interrogation of the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and University of Pennsylvania over what she called antisemitic displays on their school campuses. She is staunchly pro-Israel and believes in their “biblical right” to Palestinian land. 

During her confirmation hearing, she stood behind some of Trump’s recent radical moves such as withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization. As U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Stefanik will serve as a diplomat between the nation and the organization, speaking on behalf of the U.S. When asked what we can expect from her as the U.N. ambassador, she said, “Our tax dollars should not be complicit in propping up entities that are counter to American interests, antisemitic or engaging in fraud, corruption or terrorism.” 

Along those lines, she stated that the U.N. needs to be reformed and that Trump’s administration will be reviewing all U.S. funding going into the U.N. She said, “I think we need to roll our sleeves up, deliver reforms, and make sure that our dollars are going to programs within the U.N. that work, that have a basis in the rule of law, that have a basis in transparency and accountability, and strength in our national security, in our partnerships.”

What is Elise Stefanik’s ethnicity?

Elise Stefanik was born in New York, to Kenneth and Melanie Stefanik. Her surname is a giveaway that her ancestry is not strictly American. In an interview with Famous DC, she spoke extensively about her family history, stating that her mother is of Italian descent, while her father is Czech. Her father’s history can be traced back to Poland, with his ancestors hailing from western Galicia.


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Demi Phillips
Demilade Phillips covers entertainment news and other exciting topics for We Got This Covered. When he's not writing, he's walking endlessly through Lisbon's narrow roads, discovering new rave spots, watching anime, and streaming every Mariah Carey song out there.