White House withdrawing Stefanik nomination to serve as US ambassador to UN [View all]

Source: The Hill

03/27/25 2:07 PM ET


The White House has informed the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that it is withdrawing Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-N.Y.) nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, reflecting how critical her vote is in the House to passing President Trump’s agenda.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair James E. Risch (R-Idaho) received notice from the White House on Thursday afternoon that it was pulling Stefanik’s nomination, confirming a rumor that circulated earlier in the day in the media.

“I got a call from the White House,” Risch said after walking out of a Senate Republican luncheon. He said he was told “that they were pulling the nomination.” “I was informed that just minutes ago,” he said, adding he hadn’t yet had “a chance” to formulate a reaction.

House Republicans had expressed concern that if Stefanik was confirmed, it would have made it tougher to get Trump’s agenda through the lower chamber because Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would have lost a vote in his conference and didn’t have a clear idea how long it would take New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to schedule a special election to fill the seat.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5217864-white-house-withdraws-stefanik-uno/

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Hochul had floated having the legislature have the special election on general election day to "save money". They can't lose any more votes out of the House - even with 2 of their seats due to be re-filled next week (April 1st).