WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Spokane, the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House, will serve as that chamber's top liason to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

She will join Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri as Romney's chief contact to congressional Republicans. She co-chairs Romney's campaign in Washington state.

McMorris Rodgers is a reliable conservative who usually moves in lockstep with the House Republican leadership. She's frequently dispatched as a spokeswoman for the Republican agenda and as a critic of the Obama administration's policies

McMorris Rodgers, who is serving her fourth term, has been mentioned as one of Romney's many potential VP picks -- a job she would welcome going to a woman.