Will Chuck & Kirsten back Elise?

By Mark Frost, Chronicle Editor

Here’s an interesting, high-profile story that will unfold in the month ahead.

Will New York’s U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats, vote for President Trump’s nomination of our Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations?

Some Trump nominees have drawn harsh criticism — Robert Kennedy for Health, Pete Hegseth for Defense. Matt Gaetz was quashed right out of the gate (or Gaetz) as the prospective Attorney General.

But reaction to Elise’s nomination for the UN post has been very positive by Republicans and largely unremarked upon so far by Democrats.

Elise is an articulate, strong speaker. There’s no question of her intelligence. The UN job won’t be too big for her. (That won’t assuage those who condemn her as an “election denier,” “insurrectionist.”)

One Democrat, John Fetterman, the maverick Pennsylvania Senator, has already endorsed her and praised Trump’s choice.

Fetterman ardently backs Israel, as does Rep. Stefanik, so there’s common ground to build on.

That’s one of the intriguing aspects of how Schumer and Gillibrand will vote on the nomination.

Sen. Gillibrand also positions herself as steadfast for Israel. Sen. Schumer is less outspoken perhaps because he is Jewish himself and has been Senate Majority Leader. But the pro-Israel vote is a major factor politically in New York.

On the other hand, the progressive wing of the Democratic party is pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel, the sentiment dominant at many elite colleges.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Democrats are wrestling with how to carry themselves vis-a-vis the Trump Administration. It said some members of Congress are mulling whether or not even to attend the inauguration.

Strategic options going forward range from renewing the outright resistance of eight years ago to seeking to work with a President whose 2024 victory was decisive.

The post of UN Ambassador carries added weight because it’s international. The Ambassador expresses America’s voice and viewpoint to the world.

Republicans and Democrats in the old way of doing things wanted to present a united front internationally — political differences get put aside at the border.

Does that code survive, generally? Does it apply at all? Does it apply to Trump nominees? Does it apply to Rep. Stefanik personally?

One more wrinkle: Rep. Stefanik and Sen. Gillibrand held essentially the same seat. Both were our Congresswomen.

(Then-Governor David Paterson appointed Gillibrand in 2009 to fill the Senate seat Hillary Clinton vacated to become the nation’s Secretary of State.)

Do Gillibrand’s and Stefanik’s common Congressional roots make it more likely that Gillibrand backs her nomination?

Does the fact that Schumer, Gillibrand and Stefanik are all New Yorkers likewise add an aspect of state courtesy factoring into the deliberations? Maybe none of that matters anymore. Maybe it still does.

When Trump spoke in October at the Al Smith Dinner fund-raiser for Catholic Charities, Schumer was there front and center, sometimes uncomfortably as Trump jibed him. But it was also clear that the men know each other and no doubt move in some of the same circles.

With Elise now elevated into one of the nation’s highest profile, most prestigious positions, will some Democrats including New York’s Senators be of the view that it’s time to work together and at least be civil. It’s how top level politics is played.

Finally, don’t underestimate the widening horizon of Elise Stefanik’s future.

Chris Cillizza, the former CNN political analyst who now blogs on his own, was asked who he thinks the first elected female U.S. President will be.

He replied: “GREAT question. So, if you look at the women who have been elected president or prime minister across the world there are a fair number who are either conservatives or centrists. (I am thinking specifically of Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel.)

“That leads me to think it may well be a Republican woman who breaks the political glass ceiling. And Bill Clinton agrees! ‘I think it would probably be easier for a conservative Republican woman to win,’ he said recently.

“Who might that be?…[A]mong the people in office, here are a few names: Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Elise Stefanik, Kelly Ayotte, Katie Britt and Joni Ernst.”

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