Elise Stefanik faces increased conservative headwinds in rise to leadership
CNN
GOP leaders are moving swiftly to install Rep. Elise Stefanik as the No. 3 Republican in the House on Friday in a rapid effort to unify the party, but the move comes as a growing number of conservatives are expressing doubts that the New York congresswoman has the credentials or voting record needed to step into the job.
Stefanik is now working to try and reassure conservatives that she won't buck them on key votes despite a more moderate voting record, members say, but the effort comes as she is facing increasing pressure from members of the House Freedom Caucus. Stefanik is still seen as a favorite by Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and the whip team has already begun an all-out effort on her behalf, but Stefanik's late embrace of former President Donald Trump, her vote against the former President's signature tax bill and her fast coronation by leadership has brought to the surface an underlying fissure in the Republican Party that can't be dissolved even now that Rep. Liz Cheney has been ousted from the job.More Related News
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