US President Donald Trump's pick to be ambassador to the United Nations has been withdrawn, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch said on Thursday.
Republican Representative Elise Stefanik is a close Trump ally and was chosen by the president for the role less than a week after he was elected in November.
"It is essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress," Trump said in a social media post. "With a very tight Majority, I don't want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise's seat."
Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch told reporters on Thursday: "I have been notified by the White House. She's been withdrawn."
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.
'They got to get their act together'
Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN 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 US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.