Chairwoman Elise Stefanik proudly represents New York's 21st District in her sixth term and is the most senior elected Republican in New York. She is currently the Chairwoman of House Republican Leadership. At the time of her first election, Elise made history as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She continued this historic rise and went on to serve as the highest-ranking woman in Congress as House Republican Conference Chair, where she was the youngest woman in history to serve in top elected House leadership. Elise has consistently won historic re-election victories, often by the largest margin of any Republican in the Northeast and consistently earning the most votes in the history for any congressional candidate in the North Country.
Elise serves as a senior Member of the House Armed Services Committee, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and was a founding Member of the China Task Force. She also serves on the Elected Leadership Committee and the powerful Steering Committee. Elise serves on the Board of Trustees of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation and as a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China.
Elise has been rated as one of the most effective and bipartisan Members of Congress. She is widely recognized for her policy leadership and record of results on national security issues ranging from emerging technologies like cyber security, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing to military readiness, intelligence oversight and reform, defense acquisition and modernization, missile defense, and U.S. drone manufacturing and production. She is also a well-respected national policy leader on domestic issues ranging from economic policy impacting small businesses and manufacturers to rural broadband, agriculture, rural healthcare, constitutional protections, conservation, life, K-12 & higher education, combating antisemitism, law enforcement, battlefield preservation, northern border issues, border security, and government accountability and transparency.
Hailed as "a star" by President Trump, Elise served on the Intelligence Committee during impeachment hearings and played a leading role as a member of President Trump's Impeachment Defense Team. Elise is widely recognized as one of the most effective questioners in Congressional hearings - most notably when she set off a global reckoning addressing antisemitism in higher education. Her questions to Ivy League university presidents forced multiple resignations and set the record for the most viewed Congressional testimony in history, with billions of views worldwide. Due to this strong moral leadership and her extensive policy record, Chairwoman Stefanik is an internationally recognized leader in combating antisemitism.
In 2024, Elise was featured on Time Magazine's 100 List as one of the 100 most influential leaders in the world. Previously, she was profiled on Time Magazine's Next 100 List. She has been named many times to Washingtonian Magazine's Most Powerful Women in Washington List. Elise was included in Fortune Magazine's 40 Under 40 list for many years and was named among the top most powerful leaders in New York in City & State. Elise was awarded the Distinguished Civilian Service Award by the United States Army, the highest honorary award granted by the Secretary of the Army.
Elise also founded and launched the political organization E-PAC to increase the number of Republican women serving in Congress which helped make history electing the highest number of Republican women ever by nearly tripling their representation in the House.
Prior to serving in Congress, Elise worked at her family’s small business in plywood and forest products wholesale distribution. Growing up in Upstate New York in a small business family, Elise learned, lived, and understands the values of hard work, perseverance, determination, and grit.
She began her public service working in the West Wing of the White House on President George W. Bush’s Domestic Policy Council staff and the Chief of Staff’s Office where she assisted in overseeing the policy development process on all economic and domestic policy issues.
As the first member of her immediate family to have the opportunity to graduate from college, Elise earned her B.A. from Harvard. At Harvard, she was selected as an Undergraduate Fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
It is Elise's highest and most humbling honor to represent Upstate New York in Congress. She is proud to work tirelessly every day to bring a new generation of leadership to Washington on behalf of her district's hardworking families, small businesses, farmers, students, seniors, service members, military families, law enforcement officers, and veterans. She is unapologetic about fighting every day to give her constituents a seat at the absolute highest levels of government.
Elise lives in Schuylerville with her husband Matt and their young son Sam. They are proud to call Upstate New York - the cradle of the American Revolution - home.
Download Congresswoman Stefanik's official picture here.
Download Congresswoman Stefanik's official bio here.
CONGRESSWOMAN STEFANIK’S PRIORITIES:
- Creating jobs and economic opportunities
- Expanding workforce development and training programs for Upstate New York and North Country workers
- Reducing the excessive, burdensome tax and regulatory burdens facing small businesses
- Supporting Fort Drum and advocating for veterans and military families
- Protecting our Second Amendment rights
- Expanding to rural broadband throughout the district
- Supporting Upstate farmers and agricultural producers
- Strengthening North Country healthcare by lowering costs, improving quality, increasing accessibility, and bringing transparency
- Fighting to deliver solutions to lower the cost of prescription drugs
- Delivering funding for rural hospitals, community health centers, and clinics in the North Country
- Protecting Social Security, Medicare, and other critical programs for North Country seniors and future generations
- Promoting and strengthening U.S.-Canadian trade relations
- Combatting the national security and economic threats posed by the Chinese Communist Government
- Pursuing all-of-the-above energy policies that help North Country and improve American energy independence
- Finding solutions for higher quality and more affordable education
- Strengthening America’s immigration system and border security
- Supporting North Country law enforcement officers and US-Canada Border Patrol
- Combating the opioid epidemic and mental health issues
CONGRESSWOMAN STEFANIK’S RESULTS:
- Successfully led the New York State delegation in saving Fort Drum up to 16,000 military personnel cuts due to sequestration
- Secured Fort Drum as the preferred East Coast Missile Defense Site
- Recovered over $3.2 million in Social Security Benefits for Upstate and North Country seniors
- Recovered over $5.6 million in benefits for Upstate and North Country veterans
- Recovered over $23.7 million in other money owed to Upstate and North Country constituents
- Returned over $700 million in tax dollars back to the district in the form of federal grants
- Delivered millions of dollars to North Country hospitals, Federally Qualified Community Health Centers, and other healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Successfully wrote a formula for HHS to ensure the disbursement of federally appropriated funds went directly to rural hospitals
- Secured an increase in funding for the Essential Air Service program that provides critical funding for rural airports and allows smaller communities like those in the North Country to access the national air transportation system
- Helped pass the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act
- Helped pass the United States Mexico Trade Agreement (USMCA), expanding market access for our North Country farmers and manufacturers
- Worked directly with the FCC Chairman to ensure 46,000 unserved internet locations in New York State were included in their latest rural broadband funding package
- Reauthorized the School-Based Health Centers program through 2024 to provide federal funding for students to receive affordable healthcare
- Authored the Be Open Act – a largest fix to Obamacare signed into law, saving billions of dollars by repealing the auto-enrollment mandate
- Authored and helped pass the Flexible Pell Grant for 21st Century Students Act - bipartisan legislation developed to help North Country students complete a postsecondary education quickly and at a lower cost
- Co-authored and helped pass the US/Canada pre-clearance legislation to help grow North Country commerce, tourism and border security
- Helped pass the 21st Century Cures Act -- critical, bipartisan legislation designed to help accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of promising new treatments and cures for patients with diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to Lyme
- Authored and passed the Women’s Commemorative Coin Act
To read about all of the results Congresswoman Stefanik has delivered for Upstate New York and the North Country, click here.
