Washington, D.C. – Today, Chairwoman Elise Stefanik joined NBC’s Kristen Welker on Meet the Press to discuss Joe Biden’s weaponization of the federal government against conservatives, the long overdue resignation of Former Harvard President Claudine Gay, House Republican’s investigation into the growing antisemitism on college campuses, her legislative priorities in 2024, and much more.
Watch her full interview here.
View highlights from her interview below.
On Joe Biden and Democrats’ Failed Leadership:
“Well, first, Kristen, I wouldn't say it's a winning argument. In fact, in 2022, Democrats lost the House, and House Republicans ran on the issues that matter to the American people. We ran on securing the border. We ran on addressing the historic inflation which the American people know is a result of Joe Biden's failed policies and the trillions of dollars of reckless spending. And what Joe Biden didn't mention in his speech were any of the policies that have created a crisis across America. So zero mention of the border, which is wide open and a top issue even in my home state of New York. You have Democrat mayors who are speaking out about Joe Biden's border crisis. No mention of inflation which continues to be a concern for voters across my district, and when it comes to threats to democracy, Joe Biden and Democrats are a threat to democracy. We see them attempting to remove President Trump from the ballot. We saw this in Colorado and Maine. That is a suppression of the American people and the American people's ability to cast their ballots this November, so it's Democrats that are a threat to democracy.”
On Delivering Transparency and Accountability to the American People:
“Well, first of all, Kristen, as typical for NBC in the biased media, you played one excerpt of my speech. I stand by my comments that I made on the House Floor. I stood up for election integrity, and I challenged and objected to the certification of the state of Pennsylvania because of the unconstitutional overreach. So I absolutely stand by my floor speech. I am proud to support President Trump, and I want to correct another statement you made that there is no coordination with Joe Biden and the Department of Justice and prosecutions against President Trump. We just saw Hunter Biden defy a congressional subpoena. And the White House admitting it was in coordination with Joe Biden the morning of. That is coordination, and I believe that Joe Biden will be found to be the most corrupt president in our nation's history. And that's why all of the investigative work that we're doing is so, so important because the American people, they deserve transparency and accountability.”
On the Weaponization of the Federal Government:
“I have concerns about the treatment of January 6 hostages. I have concerns. We have a role in Congress of oversight over our treatment of prisoners and I believe that we're seeing the weaponization of the federal government against, not just President Trump, but we're seeing it against conservatives. We're seeing it against Catholics, and that's one of the reasons why I'm so proud to serve on the Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Government because the American people want answers. They want transparency. And they understand that as you look across this country, there seems to be two sets of rules: if your last name is Clinton or it's Biden, you get to live by a different set of rules than if you're an everyday, patriotic American. I've been clear, Kristen. If you go back and play the full speech I gave on the House Floor, I condemned the violence just like I condemned the violence of the BLM riots, but I also importantly stood for election integrity and security of our elections which if we don't have that, we do not have a democracy. So the real threat to our democracy is these baseless, witch hunt investigations and lawsuits against President Trump, whether it's Tish James or whether we see in the DC Circuit Court, and that is undemocratic, and it's shredding our Constitution. And you know who agrees with me, Kristen? The American people. That's why President Trump is winning in poll after poll against Joe Biden.”
On Hunter Biden Receiving A Sweetheart Plea Deal:
“If you want to make that case–the American people are very smart–they know that they tried to give Hunter Biden a sweetheart deal. We've heard from multiple IRS whistleblowers.”
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“It was because of a judge that threw out a sweetheart deal that was negotiated on Joe Biden's behalf. Joe Biden and the Department of Justice have been withheld from going after the Biden Crime Family which Joe Biden sits atop of.”
On Having Legal and Valid Elections:
“Well, I voted not to certify the state of Pennsylvania because as we saw in Pennsylvania and other states across the country, that there was unconstitutional acts circumventing the state legislature and unilaterally changing election law.”
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“We will see if this is a legal and valid election. What we're seeing so far is that Democrats are so desperate, they're trying to remove President Trump from the ballot. That is a suppression of the American people, and the Supreme Court is taking that case up in February. That should be a nine to zero to allow President Trump to appear on the ballot because that's the American people's decision to make this November.”
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“If they’re Constitutional. No, it means, if they are Constitutional. What we saw in 2020 was unconstitutional circumventing of the Constitution, not going through state legislatures when it comes to changing election law. And we're seeing this in my home state of New York, Kristen. We are seeing Democrats try to steal the election and illegally gerrymander congressional districts that we fairly won and are fair line. So I see this at a very local level as well as the unconstitutional overreach we saw at the national level in 2020.”
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“Well, let me make a final point. And I think it's important because the American people understand that it was not a fair election. We had unconstitutional overreach, and that was why I objected to certain states when it came to my constitutional responsibility as a member of Congress. I’m going to always stand up for the Constitution and make sure that we have strong election integrity. And the real threat to democracy is Joe Biden and Democrats who are attempting to remove President Trump from the ballot because Joe Biden knows he can't win at the ballot box.”
On Former Harvard President Claudine Gay’s Long Overdue Resignation:
“It was long overdue. She should have resigned immediately following the hearing, and of course, this follows the resignation of Liz McGill, the Penn president who also answered almost verbatim the same way that the Harvard Former President did, as well. And so did the MIT President, I might add. I called for all three of their resignations. It's not just me who called for the resignations. We passed a vote, bipartisan, who called for the resignation on the floor of Congress. But I want to take you a little bit into that hearing, Kristen. That was the last question of the hearing, and I tried to structure the question in a way that was a moral question and not political. And it was a moral question, and I was expecting them to answer, ‘Yes.’ And I was astonished in real time that they said, ‘It depends on the context.’ You put up three of my constituents: a farmer, a manufacturer, and a suburban mom, they know how to answer the question correctly. It was the most morally bankrupt testimony I've heard ever in Congress, and that's why it's the most viewed testimony ever.”
On Claudine Gay’s Refusal To Take Accountability For Her Actions:
“Well, I would respond that she failed to stand up for Jewish students on campus who have been facing antisemitic attacks, who have been facing physical assaults. We've seen that footage. We've heard that directly from students on campus. We've also heard faculty concerns about her tenure, and her position, and her lack of academic integrity, but it really goes back to protecting Jewish students. And frankly, when it comes to Harvard, the only time that Harvard has pled for academic freedom or freedom of speech was when it comes to the genocide of the Jewish people. That is inherently unfit for a person to be president of the university. It is part of a broader issue at these schools which is why our investigation is so important. We're going to look at DEI which inherently has refused to bring up concerns from Jewish students of the rise of antisemitic attacks. We're going to look at foreign funding as well as taxpayer funding and the governance of these universities. You saw that these boards doubled down to support these university professors despite the morally bankrupt testimony.”
On Standing With President Trump:
“Well yet again, we have the media which is so biased, which is reiterating whatever the talking points the Biden campaign is giving.”
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“Our border crisis is poisoning Americans through fentanyl. It is poisoning people including in my district, who are dying from overdoses of fentanyl, and you know why? Because of Joe Biden's wide open border, the executive actions he took on day one. So yes, I stand by President Trump. And President Trump also has, he has the strongest record when it comes to supporting the Jewish people and supporting the State of Israel. Whether you look at the historic Abraham Accords or whether you look at the ability for Jewish students to sue and stand up for equal treatment at schools under the Title VI Executive Order that President Trump put in place, not Joe Biden.”
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“These university presidents answered the question: “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university's code of conduct?” They said, “It depends on the context,” and even in the case of the Penn president, they said it would have to take a step towards conduct. That testimony speaks for itself. It was morally bankrupt. It was viewed by over one billion people in less than a week. And when you are the president of these universities, you need to show moral leadership as well as academic leadership, and they have absolutely failed. And what was interesting, Kristen, they did not even realize in the moment. What you can’t see in that hearing in the video, is there were Jewish students from each of those schools. And from our vantage point, where I was seated, they were physically shaken by those answers. So they're unfit to be those presidents and these schools need to do a lot of soul searching to make sure that they have morally fit leaders as university presidents which is why our investigation is important.”
On House Republicans Strong Record Condemning Antisemitism:
“Absolutely, House Republicans stand strongly when it comes to condemning antisemitism. And let's be clear, Kristen, over 100 Democrats in the House voted against condemning antisemitism, whereas it got universal support among House Republicans. When we put the resolution on the floor calling for the resignation, House Republicans voted in support of that and so did a fair number of Democrats. But there were a number of Democrats who did not vote in support of it. The rise in antisemitism is an issue on the Left. And you know, who hasn't spoken out loudly and clearly calling for the resignation of those presidents was Joe Biden.”
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“But Joe Biden did not. It did not come from Joe Biden. I credit Doug Emhoff, the Second Gentleman, for speaking out and the press secretary did, but the President of the United States did not, and he was a teacher at Penn, and he could have spoken out and he should have spoken out.”
On Biden’s Responsibility To Secure The Border And Avoid A Government Shutdown:
“Well, let's take a step back, Kristen. It is Joe Biden who would rather shut down the government than secure the border. Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer in the Senate, have failed to take up our Secure the Border Act which we passed. It has strong policies returning to the very effective border security policies of President Trump, including construction of a border wall, ending catch-and-release, returning to “Remain in Mexico.” And the Senate negotiations are ongoing. We will see what they produce, but it needs to be real border security policies that we know work which did under the Trump Administration. Joe Biden has failed to take that up and so has the Senate.”
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“We don't support shutting down the government, but we must secure the border. We must secure the border. That's where the American people are. We're losing our country in front of our very eyes. And again, I take it to my home state in New York. Every state across the country is a border state. So the person who's threatening a government shutdown is Joe Biden who refuses to secure the border. And again, you have Democrats like in New York City speaking out about this Biden border crisis.”
