WASHINGTON — Republicans have such a small majority in the House of Representatives that the president plans to withdraw one of his nominations in order to enact his agenda.
The White House has asked Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to stay in the House instead of serving as ambassador to the United Nations, Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) told the Washington Examiner. (The possibility of Stefanik staying previously had been reported Thursday by Punchbowl News and CBS News.)
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has repeatedly lamented that he has the narrowest House majority in history, making it difficult to pass legislation with only Republican votes — an imperative for signature bills, including a major tax and spending cut package Johnson hopes to pass in the coming weeks.
Republicans currently hold 218 House seats to Democrats’ 213, with two vacancies on each side. That means with full attendance, Johnson needs 216 votes for a majority, so he can lose only two Republicans and still move partisan legislation.
Stefanik is still a House member even though she already sat through a confirmation hearing and her nomination has been approved by a Senate committee. Senate Republicans have not rushed to hold a final confirmation vote, apparently in light of the House situation. Trump tapped two other House Republicans for administration jobs: now-former Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), whose seats are still vacant.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he was unaware of any decision to pull Stefanik’s nomination.
“I’ve not heard that, no,” Thune told reporters Thursday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Republicans were considering keeping Stefanik in the House because they’re worried about winning the special elections on Tuesday to fill the seats vacated by Gaetz and Waltz.
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“They seem to be panicking about the two special elections in Florida, which shocks the conscience of anybody who follows these races closely,” Jeffries said Thursday at a press conference. “Donald Trump won those two districts respectively by 30 and 37 points. How is it that they are even competitive at this point? Why are Republicans panicking in deep red districts? It’s because their agenda is unpopular, they are completely and totally out of control, there’s been no focus on driving down the high cost of living.”