Now, It's Who Comes After Stefanik?

To no one’s surprise, House Republicans on Friday morning elected New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as their new Conference Chairman.

Sources within the closed-door meeting in the U.S. Capitol told us that Stefanik won the No. 3 position in the House GOP hierarchy with 134 votes to 46 for the more conservative Rep. Chip Roy of Texas.

But with Stefanik’s vow to only fill out the remainder of the two-year term of ousted Chairman Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and then become chairman or ranking Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, depending on whether Republicans win control of the House in 2022, maneuvering has already begun over who will succeed her in the leadership position.

"I’d say Chip Roy ran to lay the groundwork to run in ’23," a House Republican staffer told Newsmax. 

In his days-long campaign, Roy, former chief of staff to conservative Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, contrasted his strong conservative stance with the more moderate record  of Stefanik. His lifetime American Conservative Union rating is 43.4%.

Other Capitol Hill sources privately told Newsmax that it is highly unlikely a Republican congressman would replace a congresswoman in the leadership position and that Stefanik’s successor would almost certainly be a woman.

Among names getting early mention are two freshman lawmakers who have gotten high praise on the right for their early performance in office: Young Kim of California, the first Korean-American woman to serve in Congress, and Nicole Malliotakis of New York, who has taken on fellow New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive Members of "The Squad" by organizing a caucus of pro-freedom Republicans with close ties to foreign countries. Malliotakis is the daughter of Greek and Cuban immigrants.

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.