The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization dedicated to “to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions.” Yet, one of its board members, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
That misalignment of values has rankled scholars and some staff at the congressionally funded nonprofit.
From a Politico article on the topic:
“How is it consistent for someone like her to be on the board of NED given its mission for promoting democracy all over the world and in America with the view that she and many Republicans have for changing our election processes to make it harder for people to participate in our democracy?” said former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), a former NED board member.
“It’s kind of like the Catholic Church appointing a self-described atheist as a cardinal,” said Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Elise Stefanik is part of the threat to American democracy. It’s a travesty that she’s on the board of an institution whose goal is to promote democracy.”
Stefanik was recently elevated to a leadership position within the GOP’s House caucus. She was once seen as a moderate, but made a hard turn towards Trumpism that helped elevate her national profile.
CNN’s fact-checker, Daniel Dale, found that both before and after the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, “Stefanik made false claims about the conduct of the election in some of the states Biden won. And in previous remarks, she amplified baseless claims that there were major “irregularities” with both voting and election software.”
According to Politico, staff at the NED sent a letter to its board objecting to Stefanik’s prominent role at the independent group, which was created by Ronald Reagan in 1983. The board has yet to take any action.
“Who is in the Board is a Board decision and the staff has no role in it,” one NED board member said in a text message to Politico. “It’s totally improper for them to try to veto Board members.”