Stefanik’s Influence Grows as House GOP’s Leading Woman

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is the House GOP conference chair, making her an influential conservative in Congress, a solid fundraiser, and subsequently a target of the left.

“Every issue that comes across my desk as conference chair is very relevant to my district,” Stefanik, who oversees a rural district in New York’s north country, told the Post. “What makes mainstream media so frustrated with the way they cover me is we are on top of the casework.”

Stefanik raised $2 million in her most recent round of fundraising and a total of $5 million this year, helping her champion causes for women, conservatives, and holding Democrats accountable in Congress.

New York’s expansive rural district in northern New York tends to be favorable to former President Donald Trump, too, which is why Stefanik and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. – in a similarly conservative district in northwestern Georgia – have introduced resolutions to expunge Trump’s impeachments.

Helping to defend Trump against weaponized politics under President Joe Biden’s Justice Department, oversight of allegations against Biden family influence peddling, and the annual defense spending bill are the three issues that are top priorities for Stefanik and her growing influence in the House, the GOP, and fundraising, according to the Post.

“I have the largest number of veterans out of any congressional district in New York State,” she told the Post. “We process more VA claims casework than any other federal agency.

“And we’re known as one of the most effective oversight offices on the committees on which I serve.”

Stefanik, a Harvard graduate, serves on the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government and the House Intelligence Committee, and was a leading GOP member in the impeachment hearing during the Trump administration.

Her office also serves as communications center for the “drumbeat” of the House GOP talking points, according to the report.

“We envisioned the crisis messaging,” Stefanik told the Post. “You would see every day on TV, the words on the bottom use the word ‘crisis’ — the border crisis, the inflation crisis, the crime crisis.

“I have a great working relationship with all corners of the conference, with the House Freedom Caucus.”

“I’m a member of the Republican Study Committee as well as the Republican Governance Group.”

Stefanik is also helping potential GOP candidates, potentially showing the way forward against well-funded Democrat campaigns.

“I’m the only one in leadership who’s flipped a district,” she told the Post. “A lot of candidates reach out.”

That includes those running for Senate, like Ohio’s Bernie Moreno.

“They’re coming over from the Senate,” a Stefanik staffer told the Post. “They’ve maybe met with [Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell, and they’re coming here.”

Coincidentally, Stefanik took the mantle as the House GOP leading woman from anti-Trump former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.

A direct line to Trump, perhaps because of her work he lauded during the first impeachment hearing, helps make her a GOP go-to for many.

“I talk to President Trump on a regular basis — weekly,” she told the Post. “He answers my phone calls directly. I don’t call through anybody.”

Despite that, Stefanik likes her position as the House GOP’s leading woman, and is not entertaining talk of joining a Trump ticket at this point.

“I’ve not had conversations with President Trump directly about that,” she told the Post. “I’m focused on doing my job.”