Trump pulls nomination of Stefanik as UN Ambassador

I rarely feel sorry for a politician, but I have to admit, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is getting a raw deal, but it is of the GOP’s own making.

Trump just pulled Stefanik’s nomination as the UN Ambassador, not because her nomination was failing, but because he is worried about the GOP majority in the House.

Johnson Issues Warning

After Trump won the election, he immediately started to tap some of his loyalists in Congress for positions.

Right out of the gate, he hit about three or four House members up, and this raised concerns across the board in regard to the majority held by Republicans.

It got to the point that Speaker Johnson (R-LA) was forced to talk to Trump to ask him to slow down and stop taking House members or the majority would be at risk.

Trump finally did stop tapping House members, but he left Johnson with only a handful of votes, cut even shorter by the unexpected resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who resigned before being approved, then dropped out of consideration for the AG position due to another controversy.

Trump Pulls the Nomination

One of the first people tapped in the House by Trump was Rep. Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who turned out to be a fierce loyalist for Trump.

While I have never been a fan of hers, I thought the UN appointment was ideal for her, and if Trump had bigger plans for her, this would be a great position to help raise her profile. But now, with a razor-thin edge in the House, Trump pulled the nomination to protect the majority and the seat.

Trump stated, "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.”

Make no mistake about it… this was the right move to make right now, but it is still a very raw deal for Stefanik, as she clearly deserved this reward for working so hard for Trump.

Stefanik Breaks Silence

Stefanik took the request in stride, as one would suspect, as she has always had Trump’s back.

After being told about the nomination being pulled, Stefanik stated, "This is about stepping up as a team, and I am doing that as a leader, to ensure that we can take hold of this mandate and deliver these historic results.”

Regarding the slim margin in the House, she added, "It's tough to count these votes every day, and we're going to continue to defy the political prognosticators and deliver victory on behalf of President Trump and, importantly, the voters across this country.”

This is a real shame for Stefanik because she was going to coast through her confirmation, but again, this is the right thing to do. I don’t think Trump should have taken anyone out of the House, to be honest, but with the votes getting closer and closer, he will need all hands on deck. Bravo to Stefanik for being a team player here.