Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who is weighing a possible run for New York governor next year, blasted incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) as a “hypocrite” Monday after Hochul joined other Democratic governors in calling President Trump’s National Guard deployment in California over the weekend “an alarming abuse of power.”
Stefanik compared Trump’s actions to Hochul’s decision to use the New York National Guard to secure state-run prisons after corrections officers went on strike earlier this year.
“She is a total hypocrite as she has the NY National Guard in prisons due to a crisis that SHE created,” Stefanik wrote on the social platform X on Monday. “And now Hochul is once again siding with violent rioters and anti-ICE criminals instead of supporting our brave men and women in law enforcement.”
Trump sent some 2,000 National Guardsmen into L.A. on Saturday to quash escalating protests as thousands of people hit the streets to oppose the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) objected to the deployment and has said his state will sue the Trump administration for going around him.
“(Trump) flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard. The order he signed doesn’t just apply to CA. It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing. We’re suing him,” Newsom posted on X on Monday.
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) released a joint statement from Hochul, 66, and leaders of other states on Sunday backing Newsom.
“It’s important we respect the executive authority of our country’s governors to manage their National Guards — and we stand with Governor Newsom who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation,” the governors wrote.
Stefanik, 40, has acknowledged she’s “strongly considering” a run for New York governor in 2026, setting up a potentially blistering campaign battle between the devoted Trump acolyte and Hochul, who became governor in 2021 after the resignation of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).
New York hasn’t elected a Republican governor in nearly two decades.
Stefanik has offered small previews of what could be ahead in the state’s upcoming gubernatorial race with steady attacks on Hochul, who has largely waved off her potential challengers.
Stefanik was on track to become Trump’s next ambassador to the United Nations, but the president pulled the nomination earlier this year to protect the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the House.
She joined New York Republicans at the state Capitol on Monday, where she again took aim at Hochul and continued to deride her as the country’s “worst governor.”
“Another year, another failed, radical, reckless agenda and legislative session in New York State passed by single Party Democrat rule led by the worst Governor in America Kathy Hochul,” Stefanik wrote alongside photos of her meetings in Albany. “It is time for new leadership in New York State.”