Elise Stefanik's bid for GOP leadership hits stumbling block as Texan throws hat in the ring

On Thursday, POLITICO's Melanie Zanona reported that Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the frontrunner to replace Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) as chair of the House Republican Conference, has a challenger for the position.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), a prominent member of the House Freedom Caucus, reportedly plans to run for chair of the conference, and will be formally nominated by Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) on Friday. Roy will run as an alternative for House conservatives who have been critical of Stefanik's voting record, which is relatively less conservative than Cheney's even though Stefanik has expressed firmer loyalty to former President Donald Trump.

Roy, however, does have one major obstacle to challenging Stefanik: Trump, who has endorsed her and made clear in a new blog post that he isn't open to another challenger. "Can't imagine Republican House Members would go with Chip Roy — he has not done a great job, and will probably be successfully primaried in his own district," he wrote. "I support Elise, by far, over Chip!"