SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy was unanimously elected as the chairwoman of the Congressional Western Caucus, replacing Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., who died unexpectedly earlier this month.
The caucus elected Maloy during its meeting on Thursday, the Deseret News first learned, moving the Utah Republican to the top position after being tapped as the caucus' executive vice chair by LaMalfa last year. Maloy ran unopposed.
Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, will replace Maloy as the executive vice chair, which is the second-highest position in the caucus.
The Congressional Western Caucus is a bipartisan group of lawmakers specifically focused on issues such as energy, federal land management, water policy, and other rural issues. The group sets the agenda for the entire Republican caucus on those issues.
Members of the Western Caucus often add proposals related to land management to larger bills, such as the effort last year by Maloy and Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, to sell off certain public lands in Utah and Nevada. That language was ultimately removed from the massive tax package that passed last year.
Utah has a long history of involvement in the caucus, with former Rep. Chris Stewart serving as vice chair, as well as now-Sen. John Curtis. All four members of the current Utah delegation are in the Western Caucus.
Maloy will step immediately into the role left vacant by LaMalfa, who died unexpectedly on Jan. 6. His death has further tightened Republicans' already slim majority in the House.
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