Congresswoman Removed From Harvard Advisory Committee Over Election Fraud Claims
Rep. Elise M. Stefanik (R-N.Y.) has been removed from a senior advisory committee to Harvard University’s Institute of Politics because of her decision to challenge the presidential election results last week.
Stefanik, a Harvard alumni, was among the congressional Republicans who rejected the certification of Electoral College votes from states where election integrity has come into question. Joined by six senators and some 120 representatives, she refused to sign off on electors from disputed states unless their legitimacy was proved by a 10-day emergency audit.
In a letter sent to members of the committee on Tuesday morning, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf said that Stefanik’s removal was due to her claims of election fraud, rather than “political parties, political ideology, or her choice of candidate for president.”
Student leaders at the Institute of Politics lauded the IOPâs decision to remove U.S. Representative Elise M. Stefanik â06 (R-N.Y.) from its Senior Advisory Committee on Tuesday.
Stefanikâs removal was announced in a letter penned by Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf to members of the committee on Tuesday morning. More than 750 Harvard affiliates signed a petition last week urging the IOP to sever ties with Stefanik for âimproperly challengingâ the congressional certification of President-elect Joe Bidenâs Electoral College victory and âenabling violenceâ during Wednesdayâs Capitol Hill riot that left five people dead.
Ryan Zhang â21, the former chair of the IOPâs Policy Program, said he signed the petition calling for Stefanikâs removal and believes that the IOPâs decision upholds the organizationâs values.
U.S. Representative Elise M. Stefanik â06 (R-N.Y.) was removed from the Institute of Politicsâs Senior Advisory Committee Tuesday morning, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf announced in a letter sent to members of the committee.
The decision comes after hundreds of Harvard affiliates circulated a petition last week calling on the IOP to sever ties with Stefanik for âimproperly challengingâ the certification of President-elect Joe Bidenâs Electoral College win and âenabling violenceâ during Wednesdayâs riot in Washington, D.C. that left five people dead.
Elmendorf wrote that his decision to remove Stefanik from the committee, which he made in consultation with IOP Director Mark D. Gearan â78, was not related to âpolitical parties, political ideology, or her choice of candidate for president,â but rather her false claims of voter fraud.