Rep. Elise Stefanik slams Harvard for caving into the 'woke Left' after they fire her for being part of 'treason caucus' as Cruz's communications director quits in disgust at his role
Republicans who voted against certifying President-elect Joe Biden's victory faced more backlash Tuesday.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican and ally of President Donald Trump, was removed from an advisory committee she served on at the Harvard Institute of Politics after she refused to step down from it.
She accused the college of 'bowing to the woke left.'
And Sen. Ted Cruz, one of the ringleaders of the so-called 'treason caucus' in the Senate, has lost his communications director, who quit in disgust at his bid to overturn the election.
Overall, eight Republican senators and 139 House members voted in favor of challenges to Electoral College votes going to Biden in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Both of the controversial votes took place after Capitol Hill was mobbed by MAGA rioters, in a violent incident that killed five, including a Capitol Police officer.
Harvard's Institute of Politics cut ties with Rep. Elise Stefanik for voting against the certification of Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden. The dean said Stefanik 'made public assertions about voter fraud ... that have no basis in evidence'
Sen. Ted Cruz was one of the ringleaders of the so-called 'treason caucus,' with members continuing to face consequences this week. For Cruz that meant losing his communications director who felt uncomfortable with his role in inspiring the Capitol Hill riot
Cruz's communications director Lauren Blair Bianchi quit her job in the wake of the Capitol Hill riot
Sen. Josh Hawley and Cruz received much of the early blowback for their decision to sign on to the House GOP effort to object to certain swing state Electoral College votes.
During the January 6 joint session to certify the Electoral College results, a House member must be joined by a senator to file an objection.
Hawley, for instance, lost his book deal with Simon & Schuster and was reprimanded by his political mentor in his home state.
Biden said Friday that Hawley, Cruz and others are complicit because they furthered Trump's 'big lie' - that the election was rigged.
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Their move to object to certifications also pushed the fallacy that Congress had the power to change the outcome of the election - which inspired the mob to attack the Capitol Building.
In response to Harvard's decision, Stefanik slammed the university for 'bowing to the woke Far-Left'
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Halwey, seen giving a clinched-fist salute to the crowd that would overwhelm the Capitol building Wednesday, originally took most of the blowback for challenging Electoral College votes
In a letter released Tuesday, Harvard Kennedy School's Dean Douglas Elmendorf chastised Stefanik, who graduated from the university in 2006, for pushing Trump's chosen narrative.
'Elise has made public assertions about voter fraud in November's presidential election that have no basis in evidence, and she has made public statements about court actions related to the election that are incorrect,' Elmendorf said.
Elmendorf also said he offered the New York Republican the chance to step aside - and she refused.
'In my conversation with Elise, she declined to step aside, and I told her that I would therefore remove her from the IOP’s Senior Advisory Committee at this time,' Elmendorf said.
Stefanik responded by calling it a 'rite of passage and badge of honor to join the long line of leaders who have been boycotted, protested, and canceled by colleges and universities across America.'
'The decision by Harvard’s administration to cower and cave to the woke Left will continue to erode diversity of thought, public discourse, and ultimately the student experience,' she said in a statement Tuesday.
Cruz's communications director since 2019, Lauren Blair Bianchi, had become uncomfortable with the role her boss played in inspiring the riots, according to reporting from Punchbowl News.
She, however, left the job by wishing Cruz and her former colleagues good luck.
'I'm grateful to Senator Cruz for the opportunity and wish him and his first-rate staff nothing but the best,' she said.
A number of large companies including American Express, Marriott, Morgan Stanley, Dow and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association have said they will no longer donate to Republicans who voted in favor of the Electoral College vote challenges.
THE REPUBLICANS SO LOYAL TO TRUMP THEY VOTED TO OVERTURN THE ELECTION - AFTER HIS MOB SMASHED UP THE CAPITOL
SENATORS
Ted Cruz – Texas
Josh Hawley – Missouri
Cindy Hyde-Smith – Mississippi
John Kennedy – Louisiana
Cynthia Lummis – Wyoming
Roger Marshall – Kansas
Rick Scott – Florida
Tommy Tuberville – Alabama
HOUSE
Robert B. Aderholt – Alabama
Rick Allen – Georgia
Jodey Arrington – Texas
Brian Babin – Texas
Jim Baird – Indiana
Jim Banks – Indiana
Jack Bergman – Michigan
Cliff Bentz – Oregon
Stephanie Bice – Oklahoma
Andy Biggs – Arizona
Dan Bishop – North Carolina
Lauren Boebert – Colorado
Mike Bost – Illinois
Ted Budd – North Carolina
Michael C. Burgess – Texas
Mo Brooks – Alabama
Tim Burchett – Tennessee
Ken Calvert – California
Kat Cammack – Florida
Jerry Carl - Alabama
Earl L. 'Buddy' Carter – Georgia
John R. Carter – Texas
Madison Cawthorn – North Carolina
Steve Chabot – Ohio
Ben Cline – Virginia
Michael Cloud – Texas
Andrew Clyde – Georgia
Tom Cole – Oklahoma
Rick Crawford – Arkansas
Warren Davidson – Ohio
Scott DesJarlais - Tennessee
Mario Diaz-Balart – Florida
Byron Donalds – Florida
Jeff Duncan – South Carolina
Neal Dunn – Florida
Ron Estes – Kansas
Pat Fallon – Texas
Michelle Fischbach – Minnesota
Scott Fitzgerald – Wisconsin
Chuck Fleischmann – Tennessee
Virginia Foxx – North Carolina
Russ Fulcher - Idaho
Scott Franklin – Florida
Matt Gaetz – Florida
Mike Garcia – California
Bob Gibbs – Ohio
Carlos Gimenez – Florida
Louie Gohmert – Texas
Bob Good – Virginia
Lance Gooden – Texas
Paul Gosar – Arizona
Garret Graves – Louisiana
Sam Graves – Missouri
Marjorie Taylor Greene – Georgia
Mark E. Green – Tennessee
Morgan Griffith – Virginia
Michael Guest – Mississippi
Jim Hagedorn – Minnesota
Andy Harris – Maryland
Diana Harshbarger – Tennessee
Vicky Hartzler – Missouri
Kevin Hern – Oklahoma
Jody Hice – Georgia
Clay Higgins – Louisiana
Yvette Herrell – New Mexico
Richard Hudson – North Carolina
Darrell Issa – California
Chris Jacobs – New York
Ronny Jackson – Texas
Bill Johnson – Ohio
Mike Johnson – Louisiana
Jim Jordan – Ohio
John Joyce – Pennsylvania
Fred Keller – Pennsylvania
Mike Kelly – Pennsylvania
Trent Kelly – Mississippi
David Kustoff – Tennessee
Doug LaMalfa – California
Brian Mast – Florida
Doug Lamborn – Colorado
Jacob LaTurner – Kansas
Debbie Lesko – Arizona
Billy Long – Missouri
Barry Loudermilk – Georgia
Frank Lucas – Oklahoma
Blaine Luetkemeyer – Missouri
Nicole Malliotakis – New York
Tracey Mann – Kansas
Kevin McCarthy – California
Lisa McClain – Michigan
Daniel Meuser – Pennsylvania
Carol Miller – West Virginia
Mary Miller – Illinois
Alexander Mooney – West Virginia
Barry Moore – Alabama
Markwayne Mullin – Oklahoma
Gregory Murphy – North Carolina
Troy Nehls – Texas
Ralph Norman – South Carolina
Devin Nunes – California
Jay Obernolte – California
Burgess Owens – Utah
Steven Palazzo – Mississippi
Gary Palmer – Alabama
Greg Pence – Indiana
Scott Perry – Pennsylvania
August Pfluger – Texas
Bill Posey – Florida
Guy Reschenthaler – Pennsylvania
Tom Rice – South Carolina
Harold Rogers – Kentucky
Mike Rogers – Alabama
John Rose – Tennessee
Matt Rosendale – Montana
David Rouzer – North Carolina
John Rutherford – Florida
Steve Scalise – Louisiana
David Schweikert – Arizona
Pete Sessions – Texas
Adrian Smith – Nebraska
Jason Smith – Missouri
Lloyd Smucker – Pennsylvania
Elise Stefanik – New York
Greg Steube – Florida
Chris Stewart – Utah
Glenn Thompson – Pennsylvania
Tom Tiffany – Wisconsin
William Timmons – South Carolina
Jeff Van Drew – New Jersey
Beth Van Duyne – Texas
Tim Walberg – Michigan
Jackie Walorski – Indiana
Randy Weber – Texas
Daniel Webster – Florida
Roger Williams – Texas
Joe Wilson – South Carolina
Robert Wittman – Virginia
Ron Wright – Texas
Lee Zeldin – New York