Senate Republicans left their Thursday afternoon luncheon to some surprising news: The White House had decided to pull Representative Elise Stefanik’s (R., N.Y.) nomination as U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
“It came out of left field,” said Senator Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.), deputy whip for the Senate GOP conference. “I consider Elise a very good friend, so I’ll probably call her in a second.”
The news came as a major shock to Senate Republicans, who did not discuss her nomination as a conference before or during their afternoon luncheon, according to multiple lawmakers who attended. Many senators told National Review Thursday that they first heard her nomination was being pulled from press reports, staff, and reporter questions in the hallways.
And it no doubt came as devastating news to Stefanik, who has spent recent weeks hiring staff, giving a farewell tour in her district, and posting highlights of her congressional career on her social media accounts in anticipation of her confirmation.
The White House’s decision suggests that the administration is deeply concerned about its ability to enact the president’s agenda given the House GOP’s razor-thin majority. So concerned, in fact, that it doesn’t want to “take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat,” President Donald Trump said in a social media post on of Stefanik’s deep-red New York district, which she carried by 24 points in November. (Also worth keeping in mind: Republican operatives are reportedly feeling unusually jittery about the race to fill former representative turned national security adviser Mike Waltz’s ruby-red seat in Florida in next Tuesday’s special election.)
Recall that Stefanik, who has not resigned from her post, vacated her House conference chairmanship to accept this position in the administration. Her leadership successor, Lisa McClain, is reportedly unwilling to resign from her post to give the spot back to Stefanik. House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the president’s announcement that he will “invite her to return to the leadership table immediately,” though it remains unclear, as of this writing, what that role would be.
“I’m just disappointed, because I think she would have been outstanding,” said Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.). “She’s extremely tough. She is extremely well prepared. I was so excited about her nomination.”
And who should replace her? “I have no idea,” Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah) told National Review on Thursday, minutes after hearing the news from a colleague. “Didn’t expect this.”