Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) used the occasion of her elevation to a Republican Party leadership position -- in place of the ousted Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) -- to announce her intention to work with "President Trump," which set off a flurry of criticism reminding the GOP lawmaker that the one-term Trump is out of office and no longer part of the government.
Stefanik's comment, made at a press conference, was noted by historian Michael Beschloss who tweeted, "Bizarre and ominous for Stefanik to feel compelled to announce, referring to House Republicans, "We are unified in working with President Trump." Congress is co-equal branch and Trump no longer President, having been thrown out by US voters (as it should not need to be said)."
Many on Twitter joined in, accusing the lawmaker of being "purposefully disrespectful" to President Joe Biden while also noting Stefanik is apparently willing to take her marching orders from the ex-president.
According to one Stefanik critic, "We are heading into some bad territory."
You can see more tweets like that below:
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) thanks former President Trump after winning vote for Liz Cheney\u2019s former position, House GOP Conference Chair:\n\n\u201cHe is a critical part of our Republican team.\u201dpic.twitter.com/9v7AOVq5UU— The Recount (@The Recount) 1620999857
We caught the same thing. Did no one else LISTEN to what she said?!?!?— BA Rali (@BA Rali) 1621000439
it's treasonous behavior, but if duly elected president Biden's presidency can be summarily dismissed, presumably the republicans' elections, many on the same ballot as Trump, are subject to the same dismissal.— Beginning of a New Adventure (@Beginning of a New Adventure) 1621000828
She just reinforced the Big Lie.— VMB (@VMB) 1621000497
They do know that he\u2019s not president anymore, right? Even though they really want him to be, right? I\u2019m still wondering how this country got here.— Catherine Robinson (@Catherine Robinson) 1621001389
Since when does our Congress state that it is unified in working with a person who is no longer president? Did I miss something?— Dale Garwood (@Dale Garwood) 1621002613
So they\u2019re just going to proceed as if an election didn\u2019t happen? An election that charlatan lost. How do we deal with this level of delusion & propaganda? This is very dangerous.— susanprintz (@susanprintz) 1621002658
The coup attempt continues \u2026— Annie Davies (@Annie Davies) 1621000510
She is admitting that house republicans will do trumps bidding. Giving there loyalty to a criminal who was defeated. This shows pure treason.— James Tate (@James Tate) 1621000707
So they are openly admitting that a non elected person has total control over their party. It also means those elected members do not represent their states or the voters they merely are there to adhere to the orders given to them by Trump and his handpicked people.— Rob Mc (@Rob Mc) 1621000621
We are heading into some bad territory— Jeffrey Winer \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f (@Jeffrey Winer \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f) 1621000706
Well\u2026.. it appears that Ivy League degree doesn\u2019t equate intelligence at least not with @RepStefanik @EliseStefanik \u2026.obviously you pic.twitter.com/snlxP9Offo— N. Iris Pagan (@N. Iris Pagan) 1621001199
