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WASHINGTON (NewsNation) – Former President Donald Trump’s convincing victory in Iowa set the rumor mill into overdrive of who he might want as his running mate — with Rep. Elise Stefanik earning the most buzz.
Stefanik launched her political career as a moderate conservative, only to jump head-first into the Make America Great Again movement led by Trump.
While the New York Republican moves to position herself as one of the fiercest defenders of Trump and the MAGA brand, is she destined to serve as his running mate?
Elise Stefanik’s path to Congress
Born and raised in upstate New York, Stefanik became the first member of her immediate family to earn a college degree after graduating from Harvard in 2006.
She entered the political arena soon after, serving as a domestic policy aide in the George W. Bush White House, and would go on to advise Paul Ryan, when he was a vice-presidential nominee during Mitt Romney’s run for president.
In 2014 – at 30 years old – Stefanik was elected to the House of Representatives. Upon taking office, not only was she the youngest woman elected to Congress in United States history at the time, but she was also the first woman to occupy her seat.
Now, she serves as chair House Republican Conference and is – once again – the youngest woman ever to serve in House leadership.
Stefanik’s political stances and shift towards MAGA
Stefanik now considers herself “ultra MAGA” and “proud of it,” but initially, she started out her career as a moderate Republican.
Back then, Stefanik would often break with Trump on policy issues.
In June 2017, Stefanik called Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord “a mistake,” and said it “harms the ongoing effort to fight climate change while also isolating us from our allies.”
Stefanik voted against Trump’s tax cut bill in December 2017 because it did not “adequately protect the state and local tax deduction” that those across New York depend upon. “Families here rely on this important deduction to make ends meet,” she said.
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Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., speaks during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) -
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) addresses reporters after a closed-door House Republican Conference meeting on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. -
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 25: U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) hugs Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) after delivering the nominating speech for him as the House of Representatives holds an election for a new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol on October 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. After a contentious nominating period that has seen four candidates over a three-week period, the House GOP conference selected Johnson as their most recent nominee to succeed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was ousted on October 4 in a move led by a small group of conservative members of his own party. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) -
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) addresses reporters after a closed-door House Republican conference meeting on Wednesday, January 25, 2023. -
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) addresses reporters following the House Republican Leadership Election for the 118th session of Congress on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.
Stefanik also slammed Trump publicly for his comments about women, telling CBS News in October 2018, “I think it’s unacceptable. I disagree with the rhetoric. I’ve disagreed with the President’s rhetoric numerous times when it comes to how he addresses women.”
And she supported special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
However, in November 2019, Stefanik used her platform on the House Intelligence Committee to vehemently defend Trump during his first impeachment hearing for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
At the time, Trump declared on Twitter, “A new Republican star is born.”
Stefanik’s controversies and achievements
Voted to overturn the 2020 election
After the 2020 election, Stefanik was among 147 Republicans who opposed certifying Joe Biden’s electoral votes. She repeated false claims about “unprecedented voting irregularities” in the presidential election.
Jan. 6
While Stefanik has “strongly” condemned the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, she described the defendants involved in the riot as “hostages.”
Antisemitism hearing
In recent weeks, Stefanik claimed credit for the career demise of Dr. Claudine Gay, the president at her alma mater and Liz Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania.
Gay, Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth were asked to testify during a congressional committee hearing surrounding antisemitism on college campuses.
It was Stefanik’s line of questioning on whether calling for the genocide of Jews is against school policy that went viral on social media, ultimately forcing Gay and Magill to apologize for their testimonies and resign as heads of their universities.
Could Stefanik be Trump’s vice president?
Though neither Trump nor Stefanik have confirmed the likelihood of a Trump-Stefanik ticket, Stefanik did not pour cold water on the idea during an interview with NBC’s “Meet The Press.”
“Well, I, of course, would be honored to serve in any capacity in a Trump administration,” Stefanik said. “I’m proud to be the first member of Congress to endorse his reelection. I’m proud to be a strong supporter of President Trump and he’s going to win this November.”
For his part, Trump has previously said he likes “the concept” of picking a woman as his running mate, but is going to pick “the best person possible.”
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
