President Donald Trump announced that he asked Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to bow out of contention to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
He cited the House GOP’s slim majority, writing on Truth Social, ‘I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest Allies, to remain in Congress to help me deliver Historic Tax Cuts, GREAT Jobs, Record Economic Growth, a Secure Border, Energy Dominance, Peace Through Strength, and much more, so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.’
‘With a very tight Majority, I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat. The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day. There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations,’ he said.
Stefanik had been under pressure to take herself out of contention for the role despite appearing poised to sail through Senate confirmation with bipartisan support, CBS News first reported.
Sources told the outlet that House Republicans’ razor-thin majority is a major factor in the current considerations, but Fox News Digital was also told that internal politics in Stefanik’s home district are at play as well.
New York state’s primary structure and the lack of GOP cohesion over choosing a candidate to run in Stefanik’s place have led to concerns about a future special election there, two sources familiar with Empire State politics said.
Some people are blaming Stefanik herself for not stepping in earlier, with one of the two sources telling Fox News Digital, ‘Elise has been saying [they] need to wait for Trump, and it’s allowed the process to grow out of control.’
But that source also said they ‘don’t think it’s fair’ to fully blame Stefanik, arguing that it was a failure of Republican Party leaders in general for letting the divisions ‘fester.’
‘Nature abhors a vacuum. And you have 15 different county chairs, basically like three different regions of the state, pushing their own person. It’s a really messy, ugly process,’ the source said. ‘When you have a party leader making a decision versus a primary where you can run a race – it’s the kind of thing you have to wrap up quickly.’
That person also pointed out Stefanik was ‘one of the first ones ready to go’ as an early favorite for the Trump administration, and questioned whether she would be having the same issues had she resigned from Congress on Jan. 20 instead of being a ‘loyalist’ to the GOP and staying for her vote.
The second source, however, said of the situation in New York’s 21st Congressional District, ‘She let that happen.’
The second source said Stefanik ‘didn’t want to lean in on someone,’ which resulted in no one having ‘a clear understanding of what the process is and who has a lane.’
Both sources pointed to concerns about a conservative candidate who is threatening to run in a third-party lane if he fails to win the Republican primary.
Meanwhile, the candidate who was endorsed by the New York Conservative Party ‘never supported Trump,’ the first source said.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility for two right-wing candidates to split their base enough for a Democrat to prevail, though it’s a longshot in Stefanik’s heavily Republican, upstate New York district.
Still, Republicans in Washington can afford few missteps with a thin majority and a candidate in Florida, Randy Fine, being outraised by his Democratic challenger ahead of an April 1 special election for another GOP-favored seat.
New York state special elections are not open primaries. Instead, both the Republican and Democratic candidates are chosen by the district’s 15 county party chairs.
Meanwhile, Republicans have also been concerned that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul could seek to slow-walk the election, leaving Stefanik’s seat open for as long as possible if she ascended to the Trump administration.
Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for Stefanik for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Trump said in his announcement on Thursday that Stefanik would rejoin the House GOP leadership team, after she declined to run for another term as House GOP Conference chair to join the administration.
‘Elise will stay in Congress, rejoin the House Leadership Team, and continue to fight for our amazing American People. Speaker Johnson is thrilled! I look forward to the day when Elise is able to join my Administration in the future,’ he wrote.
It’s not immediately clear what kind of role she could have, however, given that her prior spot is now occupied by Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich.
Fox News Digital reached out to the office of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for comment.