President Donald Trump weighed in Friday after Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) announced she was exiting the race for governor of New York and retiring from the House, offering public praise as she became the latest GOP lawmaker to exit elected office.
In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump called Stefanik “a fantastic person.”
“Elise Stefanik, a fantastic person and Congresswoman from New York State, has just announced she won’t be running for Governor,” the MAGA leader wrote about one of his most ardent supporters. “Elise is a tremendous talent, regardless of what she does. She will have GREAT success, and I am with her all the way!”
The show of support comes as Stefanik became the latest in a list of roughly two dozen House Republicans who have announced they will not seek reelection to their current seats in the midterm elections. Her decision also follows months of turbulence after her nomination for Trump’s U.N. ambassador collapsed.
In her own post on Friday, Stefanik said that running for governor was "not an effective use of our time or your generous resources."
"I am truly humbled and grateful for the historic and overwhelming support from Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, and Democrats all across the state for our campaign to Save New York," Stefanik said, noting that New York was a "challenging state" for Republicans.