Will Rep. Moore rise to No. 4 spot in House GOP?

Utah Rep. Blake Moore is reportedly exploring a bid for House Republican’s fourth ranking leadership position after Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., accepted a position as President-elect Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.
News broke Sunday night that Stefanik, the current chair of the House Republican conference, had been tapped to play the role in the Trump administration previously filled by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
On Monday, Stefanik officially withdrew from the conference chair race, telling her House colleagues, “Together with President Trump, we will save America.”
Stefanik’s exit left the House GOP’s No. 4 spot open for the taking. In advance of Wednesday’s House leadership vote, several lawmakers declared their intentions to run for the seat.
Reps. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., Erin Houchin, R-Ind., and Kat Cammack, R-Fla., have already made their bids for chair official. Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds had been rumored to run, after challenging Stefanik in 2023, but instead he chose to endorse Cammack.
Moore is considered a potential candidate for the leadership role, according to several news outlets which reported that Utah’s 1st District congressman had been making calls on Monday to gauge support.
Moore congratulated Stefanik on her cabinet appointment Monday morning in a post on X.
“She is the perfect choice and ready for the job and will be a courageous voice as we seek peace, support our allies, and abolish antisemitism at home and abroad,” Moore said.
Moore has risen to the top levels of GOP leadership since entering office in 2021.
The Ogden native was elected as vice chair of the Republican conference over six other GOP hopefuls after multiple rounds of voting in November 2023.
Over the course of two terms he has also secured positions on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax policy, and the Budget Committee.
As conference vice chair, Moore has been tasked with organizing daily one-minute speeches from conference members and assisting Stefanik with party messaging.
With his role in leadership, Moore aims to promote a more optimistic vision of American conservatism, he told the Deseret News shortly after his election.
Instead of serving as a spokesperson for individual members, Moore said his job is to help every GOP House member communicate the party’s values effectively.
“I look at this role as a way to help other members, oftentimes freshmen or less tenured folks, to communicate what I believe is the Ronald Reagan sort of optimism that exists within conservative principles, to go out and win the future,” Moore said at the time.