Stefanik Move Puts Focus on GOP's Thin Margin in the House

President Trump's surprise decision to pull Rep. Elise Stefanik out of contention to be UN ambassador and have her remain in Congress instead has outlets reading the political tea leaves on what this means for her and for House Republicans:

• Trump cited the GOP's thin majority in the House, and Politico sees the move as a sign that Republicans are seriously worried about keeping control of the chamber in upcoming special elections. Stefanik is in a seemingly safe red district of New York state, but the risk is seen as too great.
• The party is similarly worried about a special election next month in Florida to fill the vacated seat of national security adviser Mike Waltz. Trump carried the district by 30 points, but an internal GOP poll shows the Democrat up by a few points in the race, notes Politico.

• Axios notes that Trump's rationale contradicts the National Republican Congressional Committee line that the GOP would easily win all such special elections.
• Stefanik will now return to some sort of leadership position among House Republicans, though the details are unclear, and she told Sean Hannity on Fox News Thursday night that she's fine with the decision. "I have been proud to be a team player," she said. "The president knows that. He and I had multiple conversations today, and we are committed to delivering results on behalf of the American people."
• However, Axios reports that she had been trying to convince the president to reverse his decision before he announced it on Truth Social. Much of her congressional staff had resigned ahead of her pending departure to become ambassador.
• In an analysis at the Washington Post, Aaron Blake writes that Republicans "legitimately feared losing her district, even though it favored Trump by 21 percentage points just months ago." With the close Florida race on the horizon, as well as a high-profile Wisconsin Supreme Court contest, Trump and the party don't want to take unnecessary risks. "Democrats," he notes, "have been over-performing in special elections by quite a bit this year."

(More Elise Stefanik stories.)