Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is purging the weak links in her New York district now that her bid to become UN ambassador has fallen apart, according to reporting in the Times Union.
President Donald Trump chose up-and-comer Stefanik to become ambassador to the United Nations after his election win in November, causing disarray in the lawmaker's district as officials scrambled to find her replacement.
The district’s Republican county committee chairs eventually settled on two-time congressional candidate Liz Joy as a competitive candidate for their nomination.
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"But Joy’s candidacy was rejected by Stefanik and her advisors, as well as by Trump’s transition team," the report said. "Several GOP sources close to the process said they had concerns about Joy’s connection to the district and her hard-line stances on abortion and LGBT issues. The chairs still hadn’t coalesced around a different candidate by the end of that month, when Trump pulled Stefanik’s nomination, citing concerns about the narrow Republican majority in the House."
The report continued that tensions "have since run high between Stefanik’s staff and the chairs who pushed for Joy during the selection process."
"GOP sources involved with the process gave differing perspectives on how much the chairs’ resistance impacted the White House’s eventual withdrawal of Stefanik’s cabinet nomination," the report said.
Trump announced in a March 27 Truth Social post that he didn’t “want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat.” Soon after, the anonymous chair — who had backed Joy during the selection process — said Stefanik called him and told him to "resign from his position as county chair."
"Now that she’s no longer in confirmation limbo, Stefanik has resumed her role as a vocal supporter of the president’s legislative agenda," the report said. "She’s made frequent Fox News appearances, telling the network’s Maria Bartiromo last week that she is 'strongly considering' challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2026."
