WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is preparing to pull the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, according to one congressional source and another GOP source familiar with the matter.
The move comes amid ongoing concerns about Republicans’ razor-thin majority in the House as the party tries to advance Trump’s legislative agenda.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said he was told by the White House Thursday that they were withdrawing Stefanik’s nomination.
“I was informed that just minutes ago,” Risch said Thursday.
The unexpected development marks a significant blow to Stefanik, a Trump loyalist and rising star in the party. Stefanik was reported favorably out of the Foreign Relations Committee at the end of January, but never received a confirmation vote in the full Senate.
CBS News was first to report that Trump was considering withdrawing her nomination.
Stefanik’s Instagram stories on Thursday featured highlights of her decadelong congressional career. One House Republican close to her said Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., had informed lawmakers he was planning to host a going-away party for Stefanik on Monday.
While nearly all other members of Trump’s Cabinet have been confirmed by the Senate, the upper chamber has slow-walked Stefanik’s confirmation for weeks due to concerns over House Republicans’ narrow majority. On multiple occasions, Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. have needed her vote to advance Trump’s agenda.
On Feb. 25, House Republicans adopted a budget resolution with zero votes to spare, a critical step to begin the process to pass Trump’s sweeping border, energy and tax policy plans.
And just this month, the House narrowly voted to pass a six-month GOP funding bill to avert a government shutdown, jamming Senate Democrats who despised the proposal.
In the coming months, House Republicans will face another difficult gauntlet as they try to pass their reconciliation package that contains many of Trump’s 2024 campaign promises.
Republicans expected Stefanik to be easily confirmed in the Senate.
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