Veepstakes auditions at Capitol Hill heat up as Stefanik and Vance echo Trump’s remarks on January 6th

Representative Elise Stefanik of New York and Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio both led legislative efforts to symbolically exonerate Donald Trump for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. ing.

They separately stuck around cheering for Trump in New Hampshire and are scheduled to attend the former president’s fundraiser in Washington, D.C.

Republican senators each said they would not have certified the 2020 election results had they been President Trump’s vice president, despite there being no evidence of fraud.

And in a sign that may be contributing to their shared recent behavior, both Stefanik and Vance are willing to serve as President Trump’s office in any capacity, including as vice presidential candidate. He has stated that he intends to serve under the.

“I’m proud to be a top surrogate mother,” Stefanik said during an appearance on CNN Thursday. “I would be proud to serve in a future Trump administration.”

Meanwhile, Vance has also expressed interest in joining President Trump.

“If he asked me, I would definitely consider it,” he recently told CNN. “But I love being a senator.”

As President Trump races toward the nomination, auditions for the Veep Stakes are heating up on Capitol Hill, with Stefanik and Vance, both 39, the main jockeys. And Republicans are rehashing false claims about the 2020 election as they seek to make themselves more attractive candidates. It is about rewriting the narrative about January 6 and clearing the name of Mr. Trump, who faces potential political and legal consequences for his role on that day.

Rep. Tim Burchett, a Trump-friendly Republican from Tennessee, said some of his colleagues appear eager to prove their loyalty to Trump in hopes of joining him. He admitted that the competition was mostly friendly.

“I don’t think anyone would elbow someone to get President Trump,” he said. “I think it’s a pretty big tent situation.”

But another Republican lawmaker had a slightly less charitable view of the situation.

“They can’t kiss his ass enough,” the Republican told CNN when asked about the apparent jockeying among lawmakers for the vice presidential nomination. “it is clear.”

Republican officials familiar with the matter say President Trump is not ready to seriously discuss choosing a running mate. But that hasn’t stopped him from raising money with the idea of ​​veepstakes or mentioning various names in private conversations about which colleagues within the Republican Party will make his short list of candidates. Chat is rampant.

“He likes to have fun and say, ‘This senator is a good person, and Elise would be good, too.'” But he hasn’t made any decisions,” the New Jersey Republican said. Congressman Jeff Van Drew told CNN about his conversation with President Trump. “I think he enjoys the fact that there’s a lot of discussion about it.”

While many Republicans from across the country are being considered as potential vice presidential candidates, Republicans on Capitol Hill are trying to use their powerful platforms in Congress to stand out from their peers.

A prime example of this was last week, when Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida introduced a largely symbolic resolution in Congress declaring that Trump had not incited an insurrection or insurrection. The resolution comes amid court challenges over whether Trump should remain on the ballot. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives, including 10 House Republicans, for inciting the riot.

When Gates began telling his colleagues that he was drafting this bill, Stefanik and Vance (two of Trump’s biggest cheerleaders on Capitol Hill) both said they wanted to be the face of the effort. They competed behind the scenes, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.

Mr. Vance gained support from Mr. Trump during his Senate campaign and ultimately introduced companion legislation in the Senate. In addition, Stefanik, the fourth-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives and the chair of the Republican Conference, said he would co-sponsor with Gaetz and personally urge members to sign the resolution in order to maximize Republican support. Republican officials said.

Nearly one-third of the House Republican conference currently supports the bill. They include Rep. Byron Donald of Florida and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who are also said to be interested in joining Mr. Trump’s campaign. Although he has served as Trump’s surrogate during the election campaign, it seems unlikely that he will be able to do so.

Stefanik and Vance’s high-profile involvement didn’t go unnoticed by their colleagues. Several Republicans believed the pair’s maneuvers were aimed at just one audience, including Stefanik leading a press conference with dozens of colleagues at the Capitol last week.

And in fact, the effort went unnoticed by Trump himself.

Asked by CNN whether he had discussed the resolution with President Trump, Gaetz said, “I was thrilled that so many members of Congress signed it.” “President Trump is encouraged by the large number of supporters who support our legislative efforts.”

Stefanik is one of the most active Republicans believed to be campaigning for the vice presidency, and could directly appeal to some of President Trump’s biggest concerns, including support in Congress and impending litigation. Measures are being taken to achieve this goal.

She was the first Republican to support President Trump, even before he officially announced it. She has filed multiple judicial complaints against prosecutors overseeing Trump’s case. He accepted President Trump’s January 6 reference to defendants being held in prison as “hostages.” And she deleted all of her old press releases from before this Congress, including statements condemning the violence on January 6th.

In an interview with Caitlan Collins on CNN’s “The Source” on Thursday, Stefanik denied trying to hide her critical comments, which remain public on other social media channels. He said there was.

“All I have is the press releases for this Congress. Because I was elected, all of these statements are available on multiple social media accounts. You can access them from there,” she said.

But her most controversial moment in the interview was when Stefanik said she had no intention of certifying the 2020 election results. While the result was justified, it continues to be misjudged by Mr. Trump and his allies, who demonized former Vice President Mike Pence for his actions that day.

“I wouldn’t have done the same thing that Mike Pence did. I don’t think that was the right approach,” Stefanik said. “I particularly stand by what I said on the House floor. And I stand by my statement that there was unconstitutional overreach.”

Notably, her remarks came days after Vance said on ABC’s “This Week” that he would not certify the election results until each state submitted its electors that supported Trump. This is a sign that this issue is increasingly becoming the new litmus test for stakes.

“If I had been vice president, I would have told Pennsylvania, Georgia, and a number of other states that they needed multiple electoral votes, and I think Congress should have gone from there,” Vance said. . “That’s the legitimate way to deal with an election that many people, including myself, think had a lot of problems in 2020. I think that’s what we should have done.”

But Vance isn’t the only senator who could vie for the vice president’s seat. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who withdrew from last year’s Republican presidential primary, endorsed Trump ahead of the New Hampshire primary and joined the campaign shortly thereafter.

Scott’s endorsement is likely to have special significance for Trump, as it gives the former president a golden opportunity to align his rival, Nikki Haley, also from South Carolina.

But while vice presidential candidates try their hand at Washington, there is no shortage of attempts to curry favor with President Trump at home. One Republican lawmaker said people were trying to meet former President Trump at his hotel in March. -a-Lago as a “constant drumbeat”.