Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf today announced Rep. Elise Stefanik would be removed from a school political science advisory board Claiming she had made public assertions about voter fraud in November’s presidential election “that have no basis in evidence”.
“Moreover, these assertions and statements do not reflect policy disagreements but bear on the foundations of the electoral process through which this country’s leaders are chosen,” Elmendorf said in a letter released Tuesday.
“In my conversation with Elise, she declined to step aside, and I told her that I would therefore remove her from the Institute of Politics’ Senior Advisory Committee at this time,” Elmendorf wrote.
A week ago, Stefanik, a Harvard graduate herself, noted she would be objecting to certification of the electoral college in Congress on Wednesday.
That same day, the Capitol was overtaken by rioters attempting to have the results of the election overturned and President Donald Trump declared the winner.
After the Capitol was cleared, Stefanik was one of 147 House Republicans that voted against certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
“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,” Stefanik said in a statement on Tuesday.
After her vote against election certification, a petition was circulated calling for Stefanik to be removed from the Harvard board, claiming Stefanik’s actions “undermined democracy and the Constitution” by “improperly challenging” the 2020 election results.
At the same time, Harvard Government professor Ryan D. Enos has urged the school to adopt “minimum standards” for affiliation with Harvard that “include supporting free elections and not encouraging violence.”
Bacow has also received a letter from Kennedy School student Diego A. Garcia Blum urging the school to adopt “accountability guidelines” for welcoming officials who served in the Trump administration.
The letter has been signed by over 300 individuals affiliated with Harvard.
