House Republicans have narrowly passed an annual defense spending bill and must now reconcile a final version with the Senate before the August recess. Meanwhile, a political action committee that supports conservative women is looking to expand the Republican majority in the House in the 2024 election.
These are just a few of the issues that Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the GOP conference chairwoman, deals with on a typical day. She must balance the needs of her sprawling rural district with a relentless pursuit of government accountability. Stefanik and her staff describe her approach as disciplined.
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"Every issue that comes across my desk as conference chair is very relevant to my district," Stefanik said in an interview with The Post. "What frustrates the mainstream media about the way they cover me is that we are on top of the casework."
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Stefanik pointed to a bipartisan bill named after one of her constituents, Ernest Peltz, a World War II Navy veteran whose family was denied VA benefits they were owed. Stefanik's district has the largest number of veterans in New York State, and her office processes more VA claims casework than any other federal agency. She is known for her effective oversight work on the committees she serves on, including the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government and the House Intelligence Committee.
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During a day in July, The Post followed Stefanik from Republican caucus meetings to meetings with constituents from her district to votes on the House floor. She discussed how her congressional work and campaign efforts with Elevate PAC (E-PAC) aim to implement the GOP conference's "Commitment to America," a package of bills that promote US energy independence, strengthen border security, and reaffirm parents' rights in education.
Although the Democrat-controlled Senate has not taken up any of these bills, Stefanik has criticized President Biden and his party for opposing policies that have popular support according to polls.
Stefanik also highlighted the fact that most House Democrats voted against $886 billion in military spending through the National Defense Authorization Act, which included a pay raise for service members, provisions to cut funds for diversity initiatives, and increased spending on deterrence efforts against Russia and China.
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She emphasized that the majority of Democrats also voted against an amendment to the legislation that prohibits US funding or sanctions relief for the Afghan Taliban. Stefanik plans to make sure the American people know how out of touch these members are, especially in their targeted districts.
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Stefanik's communications effort includes sending daily talking points to GOP lawmakers, which has proven to be an effective attack on President Biden's approval numbers.
"We envisioned the crisis messaging," Stefanik said. "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."
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Despite an initial fight over the leadership of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the Republican agenda has largely succeeded. Stefanik believes that her ability to unify Republicans has not been threatened by any concessions made during the leadership fight. She has a great working relationship with all corners of the conference, including the House Freedom Caucus, the Republican Study Committee, and the Republican Governance Group.
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Stefanik's broad support has also allowed her to advise candidates and party officials on winning tough races and recruiting women to run for office through her PAC. She has helped raise over $2 million for E-PAC in the past two election cycles, and her own campaign raised $2 million in the second quarter of 2023 alone.
Despite her determination and demanding schedule, Stefanik says she did not initially seek to replace Rep. Liz Cheney as conference chairwoman in May 2021. However, she was convinced otherwise by former chairwoman Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who served in House leadership while raising three young children. Stefanik's election as conference chair was a foregone conclusion after former President Donald Trump endorsed her. She remains one of Trump's most ardent supporters in Congress and has regular conversations with him.
Stefanik frequently uses Trump's language, referring to the looming indictment of the former president as an "illegal and un-American witch hunt." However, she denies having discussed being Trump's running mate in 2024, stating that she is focused on doing her job.
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