WASHINGTON — Republicans have such a small majority in the House of Representatives that President Donald Trump has asked Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to stay in the House instead of serving as ambassador to the United Nations.
“As we advance our America First Agenda, it is essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress,” Trump said 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.”
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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.
Not long after Trump tapped three House members for administration roles after winning the election in November, Johnson joked that he should cut it out. “I have begged and pleaded with the new president: Enough already, okay, because our numbers are small,” Johnson said.
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.
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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.
The Stefanik switch came as a surprise on Capitol Hill. Earlier on Thursday, 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.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) noted that Trump won Stefanik’s district by 21 points in November.
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“He withdrew her nomination to be U.N. Ambassador because the extremists are afraid they will lose the special election to replace her,” Jeffries said. “The Republican agenda is extremely unpopular, they are crashing the economy in real time and House Republicans are running scared. What happened to their so-called mandate?”
Trump alluded to the potential difficulty of winning House races in his statement.
“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,” Trump wrote, adding that Stefanik would return to her role on Johnson’s leadership team.
