WASHINGTON D.C., - In case you missed it, House Republican Leadership Chairwoman Elise Stefanik joined the Ben Shapiro Show and spoke President Trump's ban of foreign nationals from studying at Harvard University, the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the threat of Iran to American interests.
View highlights of the interview here:
On Trump's Ban on Foreign Nationals from Studying at Harvard:
Chairwoman Stefanik: I called on President Trump to do that and worked very closely with him. He followed those hearings incredibly closely. It's an issue that I've discussed with him extensively going back the past few years, and I applaud this administration for stepping in and holding these universities accountable. They had an opportunity to save themselves. They failed. They failed at the highest levels. But it is endemic within these institutions, whether it's the offices of DEI, whether it's the rise of antisemitism, even pre-dating the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7. You see the decline of admissions of Jewish students. You see assaults, physical threats, verbal threats, against Jewish students. You've seen Hillels, who have been targeted at these schools across the country. You've seen professors who are spewing vile antisemitism, and yet they're propped up by these universities. In the state of New York, look at what has happened to Columbia. These are once great institutions that have failed at all levels. They have fundamentally lost their way. So it is important for this administration, and it's why Congress has stepped in as well to use the power of the purse when it comes to ensuring that US taxpayer dollars don't go to prop up this antisemitism.
On the Terror Attack in Boulder, Colorado:
Chairwoman Stefanik: I stand strongly with President Trump, and it is important that we take a moment to comment on the absolute antisemitism, this terror attack on US soil that happened in Boulder, Colorado, and the fact that this illegal was here because of Joe Biden's failed border policies. Molotov cocktails were thrown, including at an individual who was a holocaust survivor, Ben, this is happening on US soil, and it's a result of policies. And what did you see from New York Democrats? By the way, a party that Kathy Hochul leads. You saw that they want more illegals, that they are putting illegals first, but they also want to keep importing people who fundamentally are anti-American. We need to make sure we are standing up for American values, and that's why you are seeing electorally increasing numbers of votes in key parts of New York moving towards the Republican direction because enough is enough.
On the One Big Beautiful Bill:
Chairwoman Stefanik: My take is this is the centerpiece of President Trump's agenda. This is what we ran on. We owe it to the American people to deliver border security, energy independence, tax cuts, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime. These are very key provisions that President Trump ran and he won on and we fully support that. I was the deciding vote, Ben, that is how important it is, and that's why I'm still in Congress to make sure that we hold this house majority, and I was proud to cast that deciding vote. There are going to be bumps along the road, as there always is when you work through this legislative process. Currently, the Senate, this bill is in front of the Senate. There's a lot of discussions, but it needs to be a bill that can come back and pass the House, given our very slim majority. So we are working very hard to stand up for the American people. Again, the key provisions are the border security aspect, the economic package of that, whether it's the tax provisions or energy independence. So yes, I know the day-to-day news headlines can make it seem rocky, but we've been able to deliver. And most importantly, President Trump has been able to deliver, and has a way to be able to work with all of these members, all of whom he knows, including all the senators, all the House Republicans, to get this done for the American people. And I'm particularly proud of the important economic pieces, [such as] cutting taxes, not only for Americans but specifically for New Yorkers, which has been a very important part of our delegation's effort.
On the Threat of Iran:
Chairwoman Stefanik: First of all, President Trump is the master negotiator. We have seen this, whether it's the Abraham Accords, whether it is his trade deals, and it will be the case in this as well. We need to make sure that it is zero, zero. No nuclear, not for power, not for anything. It needs to be zero nuclear resources. When it comes to Iran, the President has stated that over and over again, and the President is in the position to be able to deliver on that. I am deeply concerned Iran is just a growing threat in the region, but President Trump is, again, the strongest negotiator we have, and he is the strongest negotiator around the world. I've always taken this threat very seriously. We know that Iran is backing Hamas and Hezbollah, and of course, that led to October 7, the bloodiest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. So we need to see this regime for what it is. It's a regime of terror, and we can never let them get a nuclear weapons capability.
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I can't get into the specific intelligence that I'm seeing. Ben, you know, that's done in a classified setting. What I can say that is, we have been crystal clear, the House Republicans and this administration that this will be zero when it comes to nuclear weapons capability, we can never let Iran get a nuclear weapon. That has been clear from the first term under President Trump, and that remains clear today.
