Frustrations mount as Stefanik stuck in limbo — even after House clears hurdle
Frustrations are growing as Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-N.Y.) wait to be confirmed as ambassador to the United Nations could stretch until April due to the House’s ultra-slim majority.
Stefanik is facing a unique problem. Despite numerous international crises facing the U.S. and UN, she is considered more valuable in the House as lawmakers try to cobble together Trump’s agenda. That was especially the case for a dramatic Tuesday vote on the House’s budget resolution, when her presence was crucial.
But even with that out of the way, Stefanik is likely to remain sidelined from her potential UN post as the Senate is showing few signs it will move on her nomination.
Lawmakers and sources give varying reasons for the delay.
Two sources pointed to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as the driving force behind that decision.
“There’s significant frustration,” said one source familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to speak candidly, adding the Speaker has long been “slow walking” giving the thumbs-up for Stefanik’s confirmation to move forward in the Senate.
A Johnson spokesperson, however, suggested that he is not the deciding factor in the delay.
“Speaker Johnson has said that timing for Rep. Stefanik’s confirmation is a matter for the White House and the Senate to resolve and that he will be supportive of their approach,” the spokesperson said. “Rep. Stefanik is being a team player and will make a great ambassador.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told The Hill that the chamber is ready to move on her nomination — “She’s teed up,” he said — and pointed to the White House.
"Most of what we're doing has been coordinated with the White House and how they want to see these [nominations] roll through," Thune said. “We'll look to them for some direction on that.”
But sources say the White House is looking to Johnson, who has the task of handling the delicate majority, for the go-ahead before plucking her away.
Stefanik’s vote was important in a dramatic Tuesday vote — 217-215, with one Republican defection and one Democratic absence — on advancing the House’s budget resolution providing the framework for Trump’s agenda. And the day before that, Johnson was explicit about how her confirmation could likely move forward after the budget resolution advanced.
“If we get the budget resolution passed this week, which is the plan, then it's possible that Elise Stefanik would go ahead and move on to her assignment at the UN as an ambassador there, once she gets through the confirmation process,” Johnson said at a Monday an event with Americans for Prosperity.
But now that that vote is over, multiple sources expect that the New York congresswoman will not be clear to leave the House until after April 1, the date of a pair of special elections to replace former Reps. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) — giving the House GOP more of a cushion. If Stefanik leaves before then, Republicans will not be able to afford any defections on party-line legislation, assuming all members are present and voting.
A second source alleged that Johnson has “moved the target.”
The next major House vote on the Trump agenda will be on reconciling differences with the Senate on the budget resolution, but that could likely be easily held after the two new Florida GOP members are sworn in and give Johnson more of a cushion.
Before that, Congress must deal with a March 14 government shutdown deadline.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday that Congress should pass a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) until the end of the fiscal year in September, a move that would give a high chance of wooing Democratic support in the Senate.
But with hardline conservatives pushing to reflect cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the funding stopgap, Johnson has also floated adding language that reflects those “anomalies” — a risky long-shot move that would likely lead to zero Democratic support in the House and require another super-close vote in the lower chamber before heading to the Senate, where it Democratic support would be needed for final approval. Stefanik’s vote could aid in that endeavor, should leadership choose to pursue it.
If that is the case, the Senate’s calendar only exacerbates her troubles, as the chamber is set to be out of session the following week.
A third source with knowledge of the situation disputed others’ characterization of dynamics, saying that the Speaker has not asked to hold Stefanik's confirmation vote until April, even given the dynamics of the government funding deadline.
“This is when you’ve got to play team ball,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said. “At the end of the day, what’s more important – a functional majority in the House or a permanent position at the U.N.?”
“Right now, it’s a functional majority in the House,” he added.
The situation has also left the outgoing New York congresswoman frustrated at the current state-of-play, two other sources told The Hill.
“She is a little irritated,” a House GOP leadership source said.
Stefanik’s congressional office did not respond to a request for comment.
An administration official told The Hill that Trump officials were in regular contact with House and Senate leadership about Stefanik’s nomination.
“Elise Stefanik is a great ally to President Trump, and we look forward to her serving as the Ambassador to the United Nations,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
A short-lived pitch from New York state Democrats to delay the timeline for a special election to replace Stefanik, who represents a solidly Republican seat, had also complicated discussions around Stefanik’s confirmation. But that bill to change state timelines is now dead, according to CBS 6 Albany.
Had Stefanik resigned as soon as Trump announced her nomination in November, as Gaetz did during his short-lived status as Trump’s attorney general pick, a replacement may have already been in place. New York state law requires the governor to call for a special election 10 days after a vacancy, which must be held within 70 to 80 days.
While she is in the House, her impending departure means she isn’t serving on any subcommittees and is no longer part of leadership, having relinquished her post as the No. 4 House Republican that she held for more than three years.
In essence, her lone job now is to vote and be a party soldier in the name of the Trump agenda for as long as she is needed.
“She’s one of those MVPs,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that voted her out with an overwhelming 19-3 tally.
“We need her to pitch [and] to play shortstop right now,” he added.
Mychael Schnell and Brett Samuels contributed.
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