He was initially nominated by Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno and Republican Primary nominee to be the Chairman of the New Jersey State Republican Committee in June 2017 but a last minute appointment by the then Governor of his wife to a position with the parole board caused concern for the Lt. Governor. Steinhardt withdrew his candidacy and was replaced by Michael B. Lavery. Six months later in November 2017, after the Democratic victory in the ensuing gubernatorial election, Lavery resigned and Steinhardt was named Chairman. As a youth, Steinhardt earned the Eagle Scout award. He was on the Board of Directors of the Central New Jersey Council of the Boy Scouts of America as of 2011. In January 2017 Steinhardt co-founded and co-chairs the Warren County Addiction Awareness Task Force to address the spiraling heroin and opioid epidemics.