OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik is a rising star in the party and has the full support of former President Donald Trump.
After then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ordered committees to launch an official impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, Trump spoke with New York Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Stefanik, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, said they had spoken shortly after McCarthy’s announcement at the Capitol about the impeachment inquiry, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
“I speak to President Trump a lot. I spoke to him today,” Stefanik told reporters, adding that she believes the Biden family’s business dealings are “the biggest political corruption scandal of our lifetime.”
Stefanik is a senior member of the Republican leadership in the House, and her meeting with Trump demonstrates the former president’s continued sway over conservative Republicans, The Hill reported.
The New York Republican has been one of the most consistent advocates for Trump in the House, and he has even been mentioned as a possible running mate for Trump in 2024. She was also an early supporter of impeachment proceedings against Vice President Biden among House Republican leadership.
Politico reported that Trump also had dinner in recent days with Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and the topic of impeachment was discussed.
When Donald Trump was in the White House, his Administration brokered historic Middle Eastern peace deals and brought stability to the world.
The Biden Administration has brought nothing but chaos and destruction because of their weakness and incompetence.
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) October 7, 2023
Congratulations Speaker-designate @Jim_Jordan! pic.twitter.com/xAF8LMhJn3
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) October 13, 2023
Trump recently praised Stefanik’s meteoric rise in the party, even teasing that she may be the president in the near future.
“I want to congratulate Elise on her success. Man is she moving fast. That means at this rate she’ll be President in about 6 years,” Trump remarked. “She’s always been a friend and people would say she’s upwardly mobile. She goes to Washington as a young beautiful woman who took over and all of a sudden she becomes a rocket ship, she’s the boss. She’s been a great boss, a strong boss.”
Speculation has been rife for months regarding who Trump will pick as his 2024 running mate.
One report speculated that Trump could choose one of these women: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, or Arizona Republican firebrand Kari Lake.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was not convinced following the 2022 midterm elections that Trump would be the best candidate to lead the Republican Party into the 2024 presidential elections, but she appears to have changed her tune.
Noem endorsed Trump during a campaign rally in her state last week, “fueling speculation about the role the Republican governor may play in his third bid for the White House.”
Once considered as a potential 2024 candidate herself, Noem made clear earlier this year she would not be running and would instead focus her attention and energies on her state.
However, in the months since, she appears to be raising her profile nationally ahead of next year’s presidential contest and has even sparked conversations about becoming Trump’s running mate.
As for whether she would be Trump’s running mate, she told Fox News host Sean Hannity recently: “Of course, I would consider it.”
“When [Noem’s] name comes up in conversation, it’s been positive,” one source close to Trump told CNN. “She’s been loyal to him. She’s eloquent, she defends him but doesn’t steal the spotlight.”
Noem has harbored political aspirations for quite some time, CNN noted. In 2016, she underwent vetting for the position of Trump’s secretary of Agriculture but ultimately decided against pursuing it.
In 2022, while seeking re-election, she strategically ran digital campaign advertisements on Facebook in crucial early-voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, which hold significant sway for presidential candidates.
Having served as a state legislator and represented South Dakota in the U.S. House for four terms, Noem contemplated a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2022, especially when it seemed that GOP Sen. John Thune might not seek another term, as per two knowledgeable Republicans.
