U.S. Rep. Fischbach seeks GOP leadership role, cites Minnesota Senate experience

U.S. Rep Michelle Fischbach is seeking to replace new House Speaker Mike Johnson as the vice chair of the Republican Conference, she announced in a letter to colleagues late Wednesday.

Fischbach, a longtime state senator, was the first woman to serve as Minnesota Senate president before her election to the U.S. House in 2020. She's in her second term representing the rural Seventh District that is the state's largest and covers much of western Minnesota.

"As president of the Minnesota State Senate with a one-seat majority, I learned how to govern with no room for error," she wrote in her letter. "We find ourselves in a similar situation in the 118th Congress."

As vice chair, she'd work alongside Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. The position became open by the election of Johnson, R-La., as speaker on Wednesday. "We must remain unified," Fischbach wrote. "Speaker Johnson is relying on us to stand with him, for the American people."

Johnson was elected vice chairman in January 2021 and was re-elected last November. The post is one of seven elected leadership positions in the House GOP. On his website, Johnson described the role as helping "guide his Republican colleagues to fight for core conservative principles and policies."

Fischbach, 57, cited her experience in the Minnesota Legislature in her letter, saying she was part of the leadership team that propelled the GOP into the majority after 40 years in the minority.

She notes her role on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, as vice chair of the Western Caucus and co-chair of the Pro-Life Caucus, saying she's helped Republicans "defend life at every opportunity."

Her home is in Regal in central Minnesota. She grew up in Woodbury and served on the Paynesville City Council before her election to the state Senate in 1996. As Senate president, she briefly served as lieutenant governor when DFL Gov. Mark Dayton appointed his running mate Tina Smith to the U.S. Senate in 2018.