President Donald Trump listed special missions envoy Ric Grenell and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman as possible replacements to serve as his U.N. ambassador after pulling Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) nomination last week.
“For the replacement, we have a lot of people that have asked about it and would like to do it: David Friedman, Ric Grenell, and maybe 30 other people,” Trump said Monday while speaking in the Oval Office.
Trump pulled Stefanik’s nomination on Thursday as concerns over Republicans’ slim majority in the House grew ahead of the Florida special elections this week. Despite being nominated for the position less than a week after the November election, the Trump loyalist’s confirmation vote had been stalled for months due to House GOP leadership’s tight margins.
Both Grenell, who has been a longtime foreign policy adviser for Trump, and Friedman served in Trump’s first administration. Grenell held multiple roles during Trump’s first term, including as U.S. ambassador to Germany and special envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations.
Grenell appears to be continuing that trend, as he has also been tapped by Trump to be the Kennedy Center’s interim president as the president looks to reshape the performing arts center.
However, decisions on the nomination are not yet final, with Trump telling reporters that the administration has “a lot of people that are interested.”
“That’s a star-making position. And so we’ll see what happens. But we have a lot of people that are interested in going to the United Nations as you can imagine,” Trump said.
Stefanik’s nomination was pulled in a stunning announcement on Truth Social in which the president said it was “essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress” and that he asked the New York Republican to remain in Congress with a promise to rejoin House leadership as a result.
“Elise will stay in Congress, rejoin the House Leadership Team, and continue to fight for our amazing American People,” Trump wrote. “Speaker Johnson is thrilled! I look forward to the day when Elise is able to join my Administration in the future. She is absolutely FANTASTIC.”
Stefanik served as the GOP conference chairwoman, a spot now filled by Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI).
While it is unclear in what capacity Stefanik will return to leadership, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he is inviting Stefanik to the “leadership table immediately.”
Following Trump’s announcement, Stefanik said during an interview on Fox News that she was “proud to be a team player.”
“This is about stepping up as a team, and I am doing that as a leader, to ensure that we can take hold of this mandate and deliver these historic results,” Stefanik said Thursday evening.
STEFANIK VOWS TO BE ‘A LEADER’ FOR TRUMP’S AGENDA IN HOUSE
Republicans have been on edge ahead of the special elections to fill national security adviser Mike Waltz and former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s House seats. While Gaetz’s seat is solid Republican, recent polling suggests that the Democratic candidate to fill Waltz’s seat is gaining ground against Republican Randy Fine.
“We have a congressional election that’s a little bit close, I guess the one that’s in good shape, but Randy Fine is a great guy. They’re both good candidates, but it’s a little bit we want to be careful,” Trump said Monday. “I think it’s just security.”