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SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, could take a run at a House leadership position if the president-elect names the current holder of that job to a Cabinet post.
Love is among a handful of House Republicans possibly making a bid for House GOP Conference chairman, the No. 4 position currently held by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. President-elect Donald Trump is considering McMorris Rodgers for Interior secretary.
Reps. Mimi Walters, R-Calif., Susan Brooks, R-Ind., Doug Collins, R-Ga., and Love are exploring runs for the position, according to Politico. Some, including Walters, are already making phone calls to gauge support.
Love’s spokesman, Richard Piatt, pushed back on the notion that Love is calling anyone but did not say if she was considering the post, Politico reported last week.
Piatt said Monday that Love had no comment.
Utah GOP Congressman Chris Stewart said Monday he'd heard rumblings about Love and others seeking the leadership job. He called them "exceptional choices."
"I think Mia and some of these of others would do a terrific job at it," he said on KSL Newsradio's "The Doug Wright Show."
Stewart praised McMorris Rodgers' work, noting she is one of the few women in a congressional leadership role. She is only the second woman to serve as House Conference chairwoman, a position that drives much of the House majority messaging and rallies support for legislation and action.
"Many of us would like to see, advocate for hearing that voice and having a voice that's different than someone like me that is just another white person who's getting older and doesn't look that good on TV," Stewart said.
Whoever has the job would play a key role in House Speaker Paul Ryan's agenda in the next Congress.
