
Elise Stefanik's leadership rise stirs up GOP drama over identity politics
CNN
After years of encouraging Democrats and voters to take a meritocratic approach when evaluating candidates for office, Republicans are coming under fire for insisting that ousted House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney must be replaced by another woman.
Before the Wyoming congresswoman was booted from her leadership post in a vote on Wednesday, House Republicans had sent out clear signals that her successor would need to be a woman. Male members who had reportedly been interested in the role, such as Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks of Indiana, were quickly dismissed as the names of three women -- Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York, Ann Wagner of Missouri and Jackie Walorksi of Indiana -- were circulated inside the conference. Soon, party leaders settled on Stefanik, a millennial congresswoman whose profile rose in late 2019 amid her fervent defense of then-President Donald Trump during his first impeachment inquiry.
The Justice Department’s leadership asked career prosecutors in Florida Tuesday to volunteer over the “next several days” to help to redact the Epstein files, in the latest internal Trump administrationpush toward releasing the hundreds of thousands of photos, internal memos and other evidence around the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The US State Department on Tuesday imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship – sharply ratcheting up the Trump administration’s fight against European regulations that have impacted digital platforms, far-right politicians and Trump allies, including Elon Musk.











