Trump compiles his pro-Israel team: Here are the key players

President-elect Trump is compiling one of the most pro-Israel teams of any administration in history, following a presidential battle that saw Vice President Harris lose support from voters upset the Biden administration armed Israel in its war against Hamas.

The emerging team suggests the Trump administration, backed by a GOP-controlled Congress, will give the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even more unfettered support than the Biden administration, which frequently tangled with the country even as it offered its support.

The team includes a number of strong personalities, who may disagree on various aspects of policy even if they all share a strong support for Israel.

“I don't assume that all of these people are going to always be rowing in the exact same direction,” said Michael Koplow, chief policy officer for the Israel Policy Forum.

“I think that there will be differences and conflicts, and ultimately it's going to be up to Trump to decide what direction he wants to go.”

Here’s a look at who are the key players.

Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Mike Waltz

Trump’s picks of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of State and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) as his national security adviser put two experienced foreign policy and national security strategists in Trump’s orbit.

Both have staked out hard-line positions on supporting Israel in its defense against Iran and Iranian-backed proxies, like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen.

In 2020, Waltz issued support for then-President Trump’s peace plan for the Middle East —which gave Palestinians limited autonomy among disconnected territory in the West Bank and gave Netanyahu a green light to de facto annexations of Israeli settlements.

It’s not clear how much of Trump’s 2020 peace plan he’ll try to employ in a second administration, but he has talked about expanding the Abraham Accords, which established relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The next goal would be to bring Saudi Arabia into participation, something Trump in his first term and President Biden were unable to do, largely because of Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has called for an irreversible path to a Palestinian state as necessary for any deal with Israel, but he also wants a mutual defense pact with the U.S. and help on building a civilian nuclear program.

Rubio has previously joined forces with Democrats in raising concerns over entering into nuclear cooperation with Saudi Arabia, but the Florida senator has shown he can shift positions to align himself with Trump.

His experience on Capitol Hill could help Trump find a workable path forward on carrying out the president’s vision.

Rubio’s position requires Senate confirmation, while Waltz’s does not. Rubio is not expected to have a hard time getting confirmed.

Rep. Elise Stefanik

Trump’s nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations signals a ringing endorsement for the congresswoman to take her combative and confrontational public persona to the microphones at the U.N.

She stands a strong chance of confirmation in a Republican-controlled Senate, especially because Democrats have also expressed frustrations with the United Nations.

Trump in his first term used then-Ambassador Nikki Haley to call out what was viewed as anti-Israel bias at the U.N. The previous Trump administration ended support for the U.N. body providing aid for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA; pulled the U.S. out of the human rights council; and initiated a withdrawal from the World Health Organization.

Stefanik is expected to continue that approach but with more skepticism toward the institution as a whole, said Koplow.

“From what we've seen from Stefanik, I think she may be more skeptical that the United Nations has any value at all, or can be redeemed in any way. I think it's probably going to be a much more anti-institutional stance.”

A five-term congresswoman and member of the House Republican leadership, Stefanik had a standout moment in December over her questioning of three Ivy league university presidents about antisemitism on college campuses.

The questioning went viral on social media, and two of the three presidents eventually resigned.

Israel’s mission to the U.N. welcomed Stefanik’s nomination, which requires Senate confirmation.

“Rep. Stefanik has been a powerful voice of moral clarity over the past year regarding the spread of college antisemitism. Now, her attention will turn to the scourge of bias and antisemitism at the UN. We look forward to further strengthening our countries’ eternal bond,” said Jonathan Harounoff, Israel’s international spokesperson to the United Nations.

Mike Huckabee

Trump has nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) as ambassador to Israel, a position that requires Senate confirmation.

Huckabee is familiar to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and the Netanyahu government. He’s a Christian evangelist who has led paid tours to Israel and supports religious, Jewish claims to the West Bank, rejected Palestinian claims to territory and offered support for Israeli annexation.

If confirmed, Huckabee would likely play a role in shifting U.S. policy to recognize Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law. He’d also likely seek to deepen those ties with public visits to these communities, or establish business, education or research partnerships with settlements, similar to policies carried out during the first Trump administration.

“He supports this concept of a greater Israel, Israel controlling the entire territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, that’s a Mike Huckabee vision, it’s a vision that has been embraced by the far-right in Israel including members of the Netanyahu government,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who will participate in the confirmation hearing.

“This is a recipe, if he continues to pursue these views, for continued instability and violence in the Middle East,” he told MSNBC.

Steve Witkoff

Steve Witkoff, who is less known among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, has been appointed as special envoy for the Middle East.

Witkoff is a businessman, real estate developer and close personal friend to the president-elect, with no discernible foreign policy or Middle East experience.

“As so many business people have public policy concerns, that must be his,” said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif), a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee.

It’s not clear what responsibilities Witkoff will have, but Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner similarly had no Middle East or foreign policy experience and helped shepherd through the Abraham Accords.

Witkoff’s greatest asset is viewed as his direct line to the president. Witkoff was with Trump on the golf course in Florida when he came under fire in a second assassination attempt in July.

“Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud,” Trump said announcing his appointment.

The wild card: Elon Musk

Elon Musk has emerged as one of Trump’s most powerful and ardent supporters, a close adviser increasingly brought into discussions on foreign affairs.

While he has no official title on foreign policy, Musk has been pulled by Trump into calls with foreign leaders such as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the billionaire tech giant reportedly met with Iranian officials in New York over easing relations between Washington and Tehran.

Trump announced Musk would head up a yet-to-be created "Department of Government Efficiency" that does not have any immediate mandate related to foreign policy.

But Musk has ties to Israel and a relationship with Netanyahu, an about-face that came after Musk shared antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media and faced a reckoning with the White House and advertisers.

In November 2023, Netanyahu led Musk around Israeli communities that were ground zero for Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks. Musk during the visit also agreed to provide Starlink communication satellites for use in Gaza only with the approval of the Israeli government.

Musk also attended Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress.