President Trump's dramatic rug pull of Rep. Elise Stefanik's (R-N.Y.) UN ambassador nomination has given House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) a new series of headaches.
Johnson has to reassure GOP lawmakers after their president said he's nervous about a Trump +20 district. He also must reintegrate Stefanik, who was planning to bolt town next week, into a leadership lineup that's full. Stefanik was crushed and scrambled to reverse Trump's decision before he announced it on Truth Social, according to people familiar with the matter.
But for Trump, the margins were too close for comfort.
In explaining his decision, Trump undercut the NRCC line that there was no risk of the GOP losing any special elections this year. "With a very tight Majority, I don't want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise's seat," Trump said on Truth Social. Republicans are "afraid they will lose the special election to replace her," Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Thursday.
Stefanik's congressional staff has mostly resigned. She surrendered her slot on the House Intelligence Committee and had one foot out of Washington. Her Instagram was a showcase of that extended goodbye. She'll have to slink back to the House and reintegrate herself into Johnson's leadership structure, even as Trump dangled the possibility of joining his administration down the line.
Posted by John3262005
3 Comments
Fabrizio (one of Trump’s pollsters) released [an internal poll today](https://xcancel.com/axiosalex/status/1905391612580028657) that had that deranged bigot Randy Fine (the Republican who’s running for Waltz’s district) losing by three points to the Dem in the Florida special election
God, the whole situation is fucking hilarious. She is basically doing the real life version of George Costanza quitting his job, then walking back in the next day and acting like the whole thing was a joke.
> But for Trump, the margins were too close for comfort.
Stefanik won her district by +15 five months ago. The internals Trump sees must be fucking armageddon for him to be scared of a special election there.