In rapid succession only a week after his election victory, President-elect Donald Trump announced a series of nominations and appointments, some of which have emboldened supporters, outraged opponents and puzzled many observers.
While the president-elect has every right to seek the assistance and support of those he trusts and wants to work with, critics argue that fundamental competence and suitability for the designated office should be the most crucial measures of nominees rather than their loyalty to the president-elect himself.
Those controversial nominations will play out over the next several weeks. In the meantime, several other nominations by Trump have energized large portions of the pro-Israel community and brought joy and hope to Israeli leaders and to its war-weary citizens.
With Trump’s pick of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) as U.N. ambassador, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, Steven Witkoff as Middle East peace envoy and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as secretary of state, Trump has signaled a strong focus on Israel and the Middle East in his second term. Each of these picks is seen as pro-Israel and deeply supportive of Israel’s struggles against Hamas, Hezbollah and other enemies.
Rubio, a third-term senator from Florida, is vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has significant national security experience and is a longtime pro-Israel voice in the Senate. He has embraced Trump’s “peace through strength” approach and encouraged Israel to do what is necessary to defeat Hamas and assure the security and safety of the Jewish state.
Stefanik is the House Republican Conference chair, and among Trump’s most loyal allies. She gained national attention with her aggressive questioning of three university presidents during a congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses last year amid protests against Israel’s military operation in Gaza. Her nomination was criticized by the deputy executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations “given her hostility toward free speech and human rights” and her failure to “put American interests over the interests of any foreign government.”
Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister and former governor of Arkansas, is popular among evangelical voters and cultural conservatives. He has long been vocal about his support for the Jewish state and its rights to settle the West Bank.
Huckabee’s selection for the ambassador post was warmly received by Israeli leadership and especially its far-right flank — who see Trump’s election and his ambassador choice as a chance to advance plans to expand settlements and annex part or all of the West Bank.
Huckabee has also suggested that any independent Palestinian state be defined within the boundaries of neighboring Arab states like Egypt, Syria and Jordan, but not Israel.
Witkoff is a bit more of a mystery. He has no diplomatic experience but is a trusted friend and golfing partner of the president-elect. Like Trump, his background is in real estate. He served as the Trump campaign’s back channel to the Jewish business community and is known to be pro-Israel.
There is surely more to come in the nomination process. But from Israel’s perspective, Trump’s appointments are off to a very promising start.
