Elise Stefanik’s nomination for US ambassador to UN may be withdrawn, White House official says

By Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Discussions are being held on whether Representative Elise Stefanik should step away from her nomination to be President Donald Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a White House official said on Thursday.

Pulling her from the nomination would be done in part because of concern about Republicans’ tight majority in the House of Representatives, which she would leave if confirmed for the post.

CBS News first reported that Stefanik’s nomination was in jeopardy.

Stefanik is a close Trump ally. The president chose her for the role less than a week after he was elected in November.

A spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump’s Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies.

Trump said in February that the U.N. has “great potential and … we’ll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together.” The U.N. pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms.

Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped U.S. engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced U.S. plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Daniel Wallis)