Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s Performance Attracts Attention
During a recent hearing on antisemitism on college campuses, Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s performance caught the attention of many, including her former colleague Bill Kristol. Ms. Stefanik, who was removed from her position in the Republican Party’s leadership earlier this year, called her removal “a rite of passage and badge of honor.”
Bill Kristol, a prominent anti-Trump Republican who once worked with Ms. Stefanik, noted that he and fellow Harvard alumni were surprised by her strong performance at the hearing. He mentioned that the overall sentiment among them was that they couldn’t believe they were saying it, but Elise Stefanik was doing a very good job of putting university administrator Claudine Gay on the spot.
The larger political issue at stake, according to Kristol, was whether the response of university administrators to antisemitism would alienate centrist Republicans who voted for President Biden in 2020. He expressed concern that Ms. Stefanik’s reasonable sounding arguments might be a cause for concern for those worried about the potential re-election of Mr. Trump.
In response to the attention her performance garnered, Ms. Stefanik stated, “I’m holding my head high. On the most moral issue of humanity, the genocide of humanity, there should be no moral equivocation.”
While some Democrats, like Representative Ritchie Torres of New York, conceded that Ms. Stefanik made valid points during the hearing, they maintained their negative view of her. Torres referred to her as an “odious demagogue” and stated that her viral moment was “less about Stefanik and more about the glaring indifference to antisemitism among college university presidents.”
It remains to be seen how Ms. Stefanik’s performance at the hearing will impact her political standing and the larger conversation surrounding antisemitism on college campuses. Stephanie Saul contributed reporting to this article.