It is not shocking that Senate Democrats are using every procedural trick in the book to try to block or delay confirmation votes for President Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees, but what is surprising is that it appears that at least nominee is being held back from confirmation by Senate Republicans.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Trump's choice to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, garnered committee approval more than two weeks but hasn't yet received a full floor vote, and that final vote may not be held for another month or two, according to NBC News.

The indefinite delay for Stefanik's confirmation vote isn't part of some subversive plot by anti-Trump Republicans, however, but rather is a deliberate slow-walk by Senate leaders in coordination with the White House out of consideration for the exceptionally slim GOP margin in the House, where the New York congresswoman's vote is still desperately needed to help advance Trump's legislative agenda.

Slim House majority the main reason for delay

Rep. Stefanik's nomination to be the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. was cleared by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 30, but that nomination still hasn't been brought to the Senate floor for a full vote, even as other nominees who cleared their respective committee hearings after Stefanik have already been fully confirmed with a floor vote in the past couple of weeks.

Per multiple named and unnamed sources, the problem lies not with Stefanik or opposition to President Trump, but rather a recognition that the House GOP's nominal three-seat majority is in actuality only a one-seat majority right now because of two open vacancies, and the loss of Stefanik, who would necessarily have to resign her seat once confirmed, would leave House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) with zero margin for error in passing bills.

That could pose a substantial issue for Johnson as he attempts to push through in the coming weeks a budget resolution outlining Trump's agenda on border, defense, energy, and tax policy that House Democrats will undoubtedly oppose unanimously.

What that means realistically, according to Politico, is that Stefanik's confirmation vote may be delayed until some time in April, after special elections are held in Florida to fill the vacancies left by the resignations of former congressmen Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from a nomination to be the attorney general, and Michael Waltz, who now serves as Trump's national security adviser.

Senate GOP leadership says "we’ll time it appropriately"

Asked about the indefinite delay on Rep. Stefanik's confirmation vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told NBC News, "We’re kind of taking our direction from the White House in terms of who they want to move and when. But my assumption is it probably has to do with the majority, the margin they have in the House right now."

"We’ve got a pretty full pipeline, so it’s not like we’re short of nominees to get across the finish line," he added, "but, you know, obviously it’s an important position, and she had a big vote to come out the committee, and we want to get her done as soon as we can."

Thune gave a similar explanation to Politico this past week, as did his No. 2, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who said Republicans were prepared to vote for the congresswoman at any time but acknowledged that her confirmation "would take the numbers in the House down one. So … we’ll time it appropriately."

At the same time, a spokesperson for Speaker Johnson played coy about the reason for the delay and said the speaker believed that "the timing for Rep. Stefanik’s confirmation is a matter for the White House and the Senate to resolve and that he will be supportive of their approach."

NY Dems try to exploit the situation to their party's advantage

Meanwhile, New York Democrats couldn't help but try to exploit the tenuous situation to the advantage of their fellow Democrats in Washington D.C., the Utica Observer-Dispatch reported this week, as a bill was filed in the state Assembly and Senate that, if passed, would allow Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to push back a special election to fill Rep. Stefanik's soon-to-be-vacant seat until the general election in November.

Keeping Stefanik's seat open from her eventual confirmation until November, to say nothing of unfairly denying her constituents proper representation for most of the year, would rob the House GOP of a critical vote and significantly imperil any House GOP efforts to pass bills related to President Trump's agenda.

There are mixed reports on the status of those controversial bills that New York Republicans have called out as partisan and manipulative, as CNY Central reported that the bills were "killed" and withdrawn by Democrats while the Observe-Dispatch suggested they have simply been left to linger in committees without a vote, meaning they could potentially be advanced at a later date.