Two MAGA women leave within minutes of each other

The MAGA women are on the run from DC.

New York Congresswoman and MAGA darling Elise Stefanik shocked the political world on Friday when she announced her retirement from politics. Less than 30 minutes ago, Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming did the same.

Stefanik’s announcement is easily the more surprising of the two. The 41-year-old congresswoman was a rising star in MAGA circles and was seen as a lock to win the June 2026 GOP primary in New York’s gubernatorial race.

“While spending precious time with my family this Christmas season, I have decided to suspend my campaign for governor and will not seek re-election to Congress,” he wrote in a lengthy X post.

Stefanik has signaled that she is stepping away from politics to spend more time with her 4-year-old son, Sam.

“While many know me as a Congresswoman, my most important title is mother,” she said. “I believe that being a parent is life’s greatest gift and greatest responsibility. I have thought deeply about this and I know that as a mother, I would deeply regret it if I did not focus on the safety, growth and happiness of my young son – especially at his tender age.”

Stefanik has represented New York’s 21st District, which covers the state’s heavily Republican upstate region, since 2015.

Although she was initially elected as a moderate Republican, she swung hard to the right during her time in Congress and became one of Trump’s strongest supporters.

She was endorsed by Trump to replace Liz Cheney as House Republican Conference Chair in 2021. She held the position until January 2025, when Trump nominated her as US ambassador to the United Nations. In March, Trump withdrew his candidacy, saying he wanted it in the House of Representatives, where Republicans held a slim majority.

In November, Stefanik announced that she would run for governor of New York, in a bid to unseat incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul. According to a December Siena poll, he held a large lead over the other Republican in the race, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, but trailed Hochul by 19 points in a likely head-to-head.

Stefanik’s announcement came three days after that poll was released.

The 79-year-old Trump expressed his grief over the death of one of his champions on Truth Social.

“Alice is a great talent, no matter what she does. She’s going to be a huge success, and I’m with her!” The President wrote.

In contrast, Lummis’ retirement is as surprising as Stefanik’s — nor has it earned a true social reading from the president.

Lummis, 71, said in her announcement post that she decided not to seek re-election because she didn’t have “six years” left. She has served one term in the Senate when her seat goes up for election in 2026. Prior to his time as a senator, he served in the US House of Representatives from 2009 to 2017.

Once a free-speech absolutist, Lummis changed her tune for comments about Charlie Kirk’s death and then airing Jimmy Kimmel’s desperation to portray MAGA Kirk’s killer, Tyler Robinson, as non-MAGA.

Lummis didn’t even have half an hour in the spotlight before Stefanik upstaged him.

Stefanik and Lummis are two more Republicans who will be leaving Congress following the shock resignation of longtime MAGA loyalist-enemy Marjorie Taylor Green. In the weeks following Green’s announcement, an unnamed senior GOP lawmaker warned that more surprise departures would follow.

“More explosive early resignations are coming,” the lawmaker said in November. “It’s a tinder box. Morale has never been lower. Mike Johnson will be fired from his gal, and they’ll lose the majority before this term is out.”