President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had asked Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to stay in Congress rather than serve as ambassador to the United Nations, amid concern about the minuscule voting majority that Republicans hold in the House.

“There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations,” Trump wrote on his website, Truth Social, where he said it was critical for Republicans to hold on to every House seat they have. “Therefore, Elise will stay in Congress, rejoin the House Leadership Team, and continue to fight for our amazing American People.”

Trump hinted that he might make it up to Stefanik in the future with another position in his administration. But for now, he said, Speaker Mike Johnson was “thrilled” with the development.

Doing the math

It was a stunning turnaround for Stefanik, who was Trump’s first Cabinet nominee and who had been expecting to be confirmed by the Senate in the coming days.

And it underscored the precarious position that House Republicans are in with such a narrow majority that they can afford few defections. Johnson had previously said he could not afford to lose Stefanik while he was maneuvering critical measures, including his party’s budget plan, through the House.

It also highlighted concerns among Trump and leading members of his party about their ability to win what should be safe Republican seats in districts such as Stefanik’s solidly red region of upstate New York.

Her nomination had been expected to move ahead after April 1, when two Trump-endorsed Republicans were expected to fill a pair of House seats in Florida that were left vacant after the departures of former Reps. Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz. Both had resigned after Trump selected them to serve in his administration, although Gaetz later withdrew from consideration as attorney general amid resistance on Capitol Hill.

But there has been growing concern among Republicans in recent days about the special election to replace Waltz, the embattled national security adviser who has drawn criticism for his involvement in a leaked Signal chat about a military strike on Yemen, in which he included a journalist. What was supposed to be a safe seat in Florida has become a competitive race.

Trump, according to two people familiar with his thinking who described it on the condition of anonymity, has been livid at Waltz for his role in inadvertently including the editor of The Atlantic in the high-level chat and at the apparent difficulty of the GOP holding his seat in Florida.

Trump did not want the same thing to happen with Stefanik’s departure.

“With a very tight Majority, I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat,” Trump said in his post.

The loss of a mere handful of seats could swing the House majority to Democrats and derail their efforts to enact Trump’s sweeping agenda in the months ahead.

Republicans currently hold 218 seats; Democrats hold 213 seats.

Johnson praised Stefanik, the former No. 4 House leader, as “selfless” and “patriotic” after Trump announced the move.

In a statement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said that Trump withdrew Stefanik’s nomination “because the extremists are afraid they will lose the special election to replace her.”

“The Republican agenda is extremely unpopular, they are crashing the economy in real time and House Republicans are running scared,” Jeffries continued. “What happened to their so-called mandate?”

Stefanik said Thursday night that multiple issues factored into the decision, including the possibility that an election to replace her may be delayed; the upcoming special elections in Florida; and the threadbare GOP majority in the House.

“I have been proud to be a team player,” Stefanik said on Fox News’ “Hannity” of the withdrawal of her nomination. “The president knows that. And he and I have had multiple conversations today, and we are committed to delivering results on behalf of the American people.”

Farewell tour

Stefanik had apparently expected her wait to be confirmed would soon be over. She has spent the past week on Instagram posting a nostalgic retrospective of her time in Congress as she prepared for her tenure there to end. And she participated in a farewell tour across her district in upstate New York.

Stefanik had been eager to join the Cabinet and had not expected to stay for so long in the House, where she gave up a leadership position and had already let many longtime staff members go. She also has not been seated on any subcommittees.

Her focus has been on the next job, and she has been privately expressing frustration on the delay with her Senate confirmation hearing.

Stefanik attended the first Trump Cabinet meeting. And when Trump addressed a joint session of Congress, she sat with the Cabinet rather than her House colleagues.

On social media Thursday, Johnson said he planned to invite Stefanik “to return to the leadership table immediately.” But it was not clear what position she would occupy. The person who holds her old job as conference chair, Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., is not resigning, according to a person familiar with her thinking.

This report contains information from the Associated Press.