Stefanik was quick to take a digital victory lap that saw her blasting press releases and social media with the news of her ranking among Time's most influential leaders.
"Giving Upstate NY and the North Country a voice at the highest levels of government is the most humbling privilege of my career," Stefanik said. "I am committed to saving our great nation and will never stop fighting for YOU."
Stefanik was chosen as the highest-ranking woman in the House GOP, a leader in conservative causes such as diversity and inclusion policy challenges and attacks on Ivy League universities, and a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to Time's profile from correspondent Charlotte Alter.
"Stefanik, 39, now counts as one of Trump’s most powerful allies in Congress, having spent the past three years supporting his efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s win, amplifying false claims about election irregularities, and saying she would not have certified the 2020 election results," writes Alter.
"She’s now rumored to be on Trump’s short list of potential VP candidates."
Stefanik shares her position as a top influential leader with Yulia Navalnaya, the widowed economist dubbed the first lady of Russia's resistance; E. Jean Carroll, the writer who successfully sued Trump for $83.3 million; special counsel Jack Smith, the federal prosecutor leading two of Trump's four criminal cases; and Li Quiang, China's second-in-command premiere Time describes as having "consolidated more executive power than any other Chinese leader since Mao Zedong."
While Stefanik's supporters painted her inclusion on this list as a clear political win, Time's decision — and Stefanik's rhetoric around the 2020 presidential election — frustrated Huffington Post's senior political reporter Jennifer Bendery.
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"JFC TIME, she tried to help throw a presidential election to help the loser steal the race," Bendery wrote on X, "and fueled a big lie that sparked an actual insurrection."
Her frustration was echoed by one follower who noted Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was named Time's man of the year in 1938 and added, "They're not very good at this."
Stefanik's X post drew more comparisons to autocratic figures.
"I believe Saddam Hussain also made the list at one point in his illustrious career," X user @Duxsi replied. "So it's not necessarily a compliment."
Another user noted the magazine's decision to include Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine spurred warnings from political experts that the nation was moving toward "hybrid totalitarianism."
"Congrats, Putin was on the 2022 list," Richard Pierce noted. "Seems right."
@southdintegrity focused on Stefanik's relationship with Trump, whose campaign trail rhetoric has sparked fears that the former president would use his regained power to imprison his foes, co-opt the military and dismantle the U.S.' system of checks and balances.
"Hitler was influential," replied @southdintegrity. "She is influential because she chose to be an amoral sychophant [sic] and of [a] wannabe dictator."
