Steven Nekhaila
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Steven Nekhaila
| image =
| caption =
| office = 23rd Chair of the Libertarian National Committee
| term_start = February 2, 2025
| term_end =
| preceded = Angela McArdle
| succeeded =
| party = Libertarian
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse =
| profession = Restaurant owner
| residence = Key West, Florida, U.S.
| alma_mater =
| website = |
}}
Steven Nekhaila is an American politician and Libertarian activist, who is the 23rd and current Chair of the Libertarian National Committee, the governing body of the Libertarian Party, since February 2025.
Nekhalia previously served in various positions within the Libertarian Party of Florida and the LNC before he won the 2025 LNC Chair special election, which followed the resignation of his predecessor Angela McArdle.
Biography
Nekhaila worked as a franchise owner of several chain restaurants before becoming involved in the Libertarian Party in 2014 as a founding member of the Libertarian party of the Florida Keys which would merge into the Libertarian Party of Florida. Since 2016 Nekhaila has been a member of the Libertarian Party national board.
In 2022 he applied to become a commissioner of Monroe County but would lose out to Jim Scholl.{{cite web |last1=Weld |first1=Elliot |title=Davila drops out of city commission race |url=https://www.keysnews.com/news/government/davila-drops-out-of-city-commission-race/article_de6b753a-eb31-11ec-92c1-1ff4a590e512.html |website=keysnews.com |access-date=26 March 2025}}{{cite web |title=Gov. DeSantis appoints Jim Scholl to Monroe County Commission |url=https://floridapolitics.com/archives/520764-gov-desantis-appoints-jim-scholl-to-monroe-county-commission/ |website=Florida Politics |access-date=26 March 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Klingener |first1=Nancy |title=Missing a piece: Monroe County is still one commissioner short after more than 3 months |url=https://www.wlrn.org/news/2022-03-18/missing-a-piece-monroe-county-is-still-one-commissioner-short-after-more-than-3-months |website=WLRN-FM |access-date=26 March 2025}} He also voiced opposition to the inundation of the Keys with Cruise Ships during the COVID-19 lockdowns, arguing instead that businesses should stay open.{{cite web |last1=Klingener |first1=Nancy |title=Cruise ships return to Key West, while city tries to navigate a new course with the industry |url=https://www.wlrn.org/news/2021-12-02/cruise-ships-return-to-key-west-while-city-tries-to-navigate-a-new-course-with-the-industry |website=WLRN-FM |access-date=26 March 2025}}{{cite web |title=As huge cruise ships return, Key West locals decry environmental damage, state preemption |url=https://floridapolitics.com/archives/493654-as-huge-cruise-ships-return-key-west-locals-decry-environmental-damage-state-preemption/ |website=Florida Politics |access-date=26 March 2025}}
Nekhaila had served as a "delegate at large" of the Libertarian National Convention. Although not a consistent party-line supporter of the Mises Caucus, Nekhaila had been included on their endorsed slate at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention. Nekhaila stated that he wasn't opposed to the Caucus, but that it and its supporters needed to assimilate into the world of politics, and that ideally some of Mises' positions should be incorporated into the national party line. He positioned himself as a "unity" Libertarian, instead of a Mises or Orthodox Libertarian. During the convention Nekhaila had attempted to oust incumbent chairwoman Angela McArdle but placed fourth in the first round of voting and withdrew.{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Jordan William |title=Libertarian National Committee Elects Steven Nekhaila as Chair, Paul Darr as Vice Chair |url=https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2025/02/libertarian-national-committee-elects-new-chair-and-vice-chair/ |website=Independent Political Report |access-date=26 March 2025}} At that convention he also denounced Donald Trump speaking as a candidate saying he "barely aligns with the [Mises] camp" and that he "is a far cry from the Libertarian Party."{{cite web |last1=Isenstadt |first1=Alex |last2=Schaefer |first2=Peder |last3=Gibson |first3=Brittany |title=Libertarian convention devolves into fighting, obscenities on eve of Trump’s visit |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/24/libertarian-convention-fighting-obscenities-trump-visit-00160008 |website=Politico |access-date=26 March 2025}}
=LNC Chair=
Following the election of Donald Trump in the 2024 United States presidential election, Angela McArdle suddenly resigned on January 24, 2025, after being credited with Trump's decision to pardon Ross Ulbricht.{{cite web |last1=Doherty |first1=Brian |title=Libertarian Party Gets New National Chair After Angela McArdle's Surprise Resignation |url=https://reason.com/2025/02/04/libertarian-party-gets-new-national-chair-after-angela-mcardles-surprise-resignation/ |website=Reason |access-date=26 March 2025}} McArdle, who was highly controversial for her efforts to dehumanize her internal opponents in the party, as well as potentially funneling tens of thousands of dollars from campaigns to her family, endorsed Michael Heise who was also backed by the Mises Caucus which has had absolute control over the party since their takeover in 2022. Over a Zoom call, the Libertarian National Committee voted 9-6 to name Nekhaila as the new chairman instead of Heise.
Although Nekhaila supported the pardon of Ulbricht, he warned of further creeping influence of the Republican party over the Libertarians, and denounced Trump over his treatment of Thomas Massie.{{cite web |last1=Contorno |first1=Steve |title=They helped Trump take back the White House. The rewards have come swiftly. |url=https://us.cnn.com/2025/03/23/politics/trump-campaign-pledges-rewards/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=26 March 2025}} One of Nekhaila's first acts was to denounce Donald Trump and his proposals to annex Gaza stating that it not only violates international law, but also the fundamental rights and dignity of the Palestinian people, while also denouncing the "Israeli lobby" as being in conflict with party's principles of liberty and non-interventionism.{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Jordan Willow |title=LNC Chair Condemns Trump Proposal to Take Over Gaza |url=https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2025/02/libertarian-national-committee-chair-condemns-trumps-proposal-to-take-over-gaza/ |website=Independent Political Report |access-date=26 March 2025}}
On February 28, 2025, Nekhaila gave an interview on the Ladies Love Politics podcast where he denounced descriptions of the Mises victory in the 2022 as a "takeover", saying it was a natural cycle of internal party politics. He also stated that the Libertarian party, especially due to the leadership of his predecessor, is faced with a dilemma of either being absorbed into the "MAGA Movement" and the Republican party, or remaining a distinct third party. Nekhaila argued that the party rank and file must "remember" that they are Libertarians, a distinct third-party and not Republicans or Democrats, and that politicians like Trump "fall short" and that the few token concessions he's given to Libertarians "doesn't translate to real power." He also outlined his strategy for the party to return to mass fielding of candidates, hoping to stand at least 500 candidates across the country in 2026 and 2028 for major elected offices and to reverse the party's electoral decline since Gary Johnson's 2016 campaign imploded, namely to get Libertarians in state legislatures and play a role in state-politics.{{cite web |last1=Renee |first1=Courtney |title=Mises Caucus, MAGA, and the Future of the Libertarian Party w/ Steven Nekhaila and Paul Darr |url=https://rss.com/podcasts/ladieslovepolitics/1917632/#transcript |website=RSS |publisher=LADIES LOVE POLITICS |access-date=10 June 2025}}
References
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{{Libertarian Party (United States)}}
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Category:21st-century American politicians
Category:21st-century Florida politicians
Category:Libertarian National Committee chairs
Category:People associated with the 2024 United States presidential election