Elise Stefanik

Elise Stefanik
Born	Elise Marie Stefanik 2 7, 1984
Birthplace	Albany, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician
Title	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 21st congressional district
Known for	Youngest woman elected to U.S. Congress (at time of election); Chair of the House Republican Conference
Education	Harvard University (BA)
Children	1

Elise Marie Stefanik (born July 2, 1984) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 21st congressional district since 2015. Born in Albany, New York, Stefanik rose to national prominence in 2014 when, at age 30, she became the youngest woman ever elected to the United States Congress. Initially elected as a moderate Republican, she shifted toward closer alignment with Donald Trump during his first presidency, a trajectory that accelerated her rise within House Republican leadership. Stefanik served as chair of the House Republican Conference from May 2021 to January 2025, succeeding Liz Cheney, who was removed from the post for her opposition to Trump. She gained renewed national attention in December 2023 for her questioning of university presidents during a congressional hearing on antisemitism. In January 2025, Trump nominated Stefanik to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, though the nomination was withdrawn in March 2025 over concerns about the thin Republican House majority. In November 2025, Stefanik announced her candidacy in the 2026 New York gubernatorial election, but ended her campaign the following month and announced she would not seek reelection to Congress.

Early Life

Elise Marie Stefanik was born on July 2, 1984, in Albany, New York. She grew up in the Capital District of New York State. Her parents operated a plywood wholesale business, Premium Plywood Products, Inc., in Albany. Stefanik's upbringing was rooted in a small-business family environment, which she later cited as influential in shaping her economic and political views.

Stefanik attended the Albany Academy for Girls, a private college-preparatory school in Albany. She was known as an academically accomplished student. Her early interest in politics and public policy became evident during her education, and she pursued those interests through her college years and into her early career in Washington, D.C.

Education

Stefanik attended Harvard University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Her time at Harvard connected her with networks in Republican politics and public policy that would prove instrumental in her subsequent career in government. Stefanik also attended the Naval War College.

Career

Early Political Career

After graduating from Harvard, Stefanik moved into Republican politics and government service in Washington, D.C. She worked in the George W. Bush administration, gaining experience in domestic policy. This period established her credentials within the Republican Party and provided her with connections to senior party figures and policymakers. Politico described her as a "George W. Bush insider" when she launched her congressional campaign.

Following her time in the Bush White House, Stefanik worked in various capacities within Republican policy circles. She served on the staff of the House Armed Services Committee and later worked for the Foreign Policy Initiative, a think tank focused on national security and foreign affairs. These roles gave her a background in defense and international policy issues that she later brought to her congressional career.

2014 Congressional Campaign

In 2014, Stefanik entered the race for New York's 21st congressional district, a sprawling, largely rural district in upstate New York that encompasses the Adirondack Mountains and the North Country region along the Canadian border. The seat was being vacated by incumbent Democratic Representative Bill Owens, who announced he would not seek reelection.

Stefanik's candidacy attracted attention due to her youth and her potential to become the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress. She campaigned on economic issues, emphasizing her family's small-business background and pledging to support job creation in the economically struggling North Country.

In the Republican primary held in June 2014, Stefanik prevailed over her opponents to secure the party's nomination. In the general election in November 2014, Stefanik defeated Democratic nominee Aaron Woolf, winning the seat decisively. At age 30, she became the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress, a record she held until Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was elected in 2018.

Early Congressional Tenure

When Stefanik took office in January 2015, she was positioned as a moderate Republican voice within the House. Her district, New York's 21st, had been won by President Barack Obama in 2008 and was considered a competitive swing district. Stefanik focused on issues of concern to her upstate constituents, including Fort Drum and military readiness, agriculture, and economic development in rural communities.

Stefanik served on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee, assignments that reflected both her prior policy experience and the needs of her district, which includes Fort Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division.

During her early terms, Stefanik was involved in efforts to recruit more Republican women to run for Congress, and she co-founded E-PAC (Elevate PAC), a political action committee aimed at electing Republican women candidates. She was viewed by some party leaders as a potential bridge between moderate and conservative factions of the Republican Party.

Alignment with Donald Trump

Stefanik's political trajectory underwent a significant shift during the presidency of Donald Trump. Initially elected as a moderate, she increasingly aligned herself with Trump's positions and became one of his prominent defenders in the House of Representatives.

During the first impeachment of Donald Trump in 2019, which centered on the Trump–Ukraine scandal, Stefanik emerged as a vocal opponent of the impeachment proceedings. Her combative questioning during the House Intelligence Committee hearings attracted significant media coverage and praise from Trump and his supporters. The impeachment hearings raised her national profile substantially and marked a turning point in her political identity within the Republican Party.

Following the 2020 United States presidential election, Stefanik backed Trump's efforts to challenge the election results. She objected to the certification of Pennsylvania's electoral votes during the January 6, 2021, joint session of Congress.

Chair of the House Republican Conference

In May 2021, Stefanik was elected chair of the House Republican Conference, the third-ranking leadership position among House Republicans. She succeeded Liz Cheney, who had been removed from the post by the Republican caucus due to Cheney's public opposition to Trump and her statements holding him responsible for the January 6 Capitol attack. Stefanik's election to the leadership role solidified her position as a prominent Trump ally within the House Republican leadership structure.

As conference chair, Stefanik served as a key messenger for the House Republican caucus, frequently appearing on television and at press conferences to articulate the party's positions. She held the position from May 14, 2021, through January 3, 2025, when she was succeeded by Lisa McClain.

Congressional Hearing on Antisemitism

In December 2023, Stefanik gained widespread national attention during a House Education Committee hearing on antisemitism on college campuses. The hearing, held in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent protests on American university campuses, featured testimony from the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Stefanik's questioning of the university presidents, particularly her pressing them on whether calling for the genocide of Jewish people would violate their institutions' codes of conduct, became a widely shared and debated moment. The responses of the university presidents, which were perceived by many as evasive, generated significant public backlash. Liz Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania, resigned shortly after the hearing, a development that was widely attributed in part to the fallout from her testimony.

Stefanik was subsequently awarded the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson Defender of Israel Award by the Zionist Organization of America for her advocacy on the issue. She has expressed the view that Israel has a "biblical right" to the occupied West Bank.

UN Ambassador Nomination

In January 2025, President Trump nominated Stefanik to serve as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. The nomination reflected her close relationship with Trump and her vocal support for Israel. However, in March 2025, Trump withdrew the nomination over concerns that her departure from the House of Representatives would further narrow the already thin Republican majority in the chamber.

2025 Gubernatorial Campaign and Withdrawal

In November 2025, Stefanik announced her candidacy in the 2026 New York gubernatorial election, seeking to challenge incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul. The announcement marked an attempt to expand her political profile beyond Congress.

However, the campaign proved short-lived. On December 19, 2025, Stefanik announced that she was suspending her gubernatorial campaign and would not seek reelection to her congressional seat. The abrupt withdrawal surprised many political observers. The New York Times described Stefanik as "a top Republican with close ties to President Trump" who "abruptly suspended her campaign for governor." Her decision to leave Congress opened up New York's 21st congressional district for a competitive race, with multiple Democratic candidates subsequently entering the contest to succeed her.

Legislative Work

Throughout her congressional career, Stefanik engaged in legislative work on issues relevant to her upstate New York district. She was involved in bipartisan efforts on environmental and conservation matters, including leading legislation alongside Vermont Senator Peter Welch to support conservation of Lake Champlain.

Stefanik also worked on national security and agricultural policy issues. In October 2025, she reintroduced the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security (PASS) Act alongside Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford, which focused on agricultural security concerns. She also participated in bipartisan efforts within the New York congressional delegation to advocate for domestic gallium production at the Air Force Research Lab in Rome, New York, reflecting her interest in defense infrastructure and supply chain security.

Personal Life

In August 2017, Stefanik married Matthew Manda, an executive in the communications industry, at a ceremony in Saratoga Springs, New York. The couple has one child.

Stefanik has maintained her residence in the North Country region of New York, which she represents in Congress. The district encompasses a large geographic area including the Adirondack Mountains, the Thousand Islands region, and communities along the Canadian border and Lake Champlain.

Recognition

Stefanik's election in 2014 as the youngest woman ever elected to the United States Congress brought her immediate national recognition. The record stood until 2018, when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was elected to represent New York's 14th congressional district at age 29.

Her role during the first impeachment of Donald Trump in 2019 significantly elevated her national profile, as her questioning during the House Intelligence Committee hearings drew attention from conservative media and Trump supporters.

Stefanik received the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson Defender of Israel Award from the Zionist Organization of America following her questioning of university presidents during the December 2023 congressional hearing on antisemitism. The hearing and its aftermath were among the most widely covered congressional events of 2023.

Her political career was the subject of extensive media analysis, including an opinion piece in City & State New York in December 2025 that examined her trajectory from moderate Republican to Trump-aligned conservative and her subsequent withdrawal from the gubernatorial race and decision to leave Congress.

Legacy

Stefanik's political career reflected broader shifts within the Republican Party during the Trump era. Elected as a moderate Republican from a competitive upstate New York district, her evolution into one of Trump's most prominent allies in the House illustrated the party's transformation under Trump's influence. Her rise to the third-ranking position in House Republican leadership demonstrated how alignment with Trump became a pathway to power within the party.

Her record of breaking barriers as the youngest woman elected to Congress in 2014 established her as a notable figure in the history of women's representation in American politics, even as her subsequent political positions generated both support and criticism.

Stefanik's questioning during the December 2023 antisemitism hearing had lasting effects on higher education governance, contributing to leadership changes at major universities and intensifying scrutiny of campus speech policies.

Her decision to leave Congress in December 2025, after more than a decade representing New York's 21st congressional district, opened a new chapter in the district's political landscape, with multiple candidates from both parties vying to succeed her.