GOP leadership in chaos after McCarthy backs out
Conservatives celebrate his departure; contest for speaker wide open.
The sudden decision Thursday by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to withdraw from the House speaker race thrust congressional Republicans into chaos and left the contest wide open, with a crowd of lesser-known players jockeying for power,
Rank-and-file members fretted that the political unrest among tea party-affiliated lawmakers that drove McCarthy and current House Speaker John Boehner away from the position has left the party unmanageable in the lower chamber.
The conservatives seized the moment as McCarthy made his exodus, celebrating
the departure of one of the GOP’s moderates and fastest-rising stars — and pledging to push for one of their own to step forward in the coming weeks before the leadership elections are rescheduled. McCarthy’s associates, many hailing from mainstream Republican districts, urged caution and began efforts to draft another centrist Republican to succeed Boehner.
The Hill, a Washington news outlet covering Congress, reported that House Republicans will meet at 9 a.m. Friday to chart their next step.
Boehner, who had backed McCarthy, implored House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to run for speaker, according to two people familiar with the exchange. Boehner has told Ryan that he is the only person who can unite the House GOP at a time of turmoil.
“It is total confusion — a banana republic,” said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., a Boehner ally, as he recounted seeing a handful of House Republicans weeping Thursday over the downfall of McCarthy. “Any plan, anything you anticipate, who knows what’ll happen?”
The scene at the Capitol yielded more questions than answers, with an array of influential figures such as Ryan still reluctant to take McCarthy’s place as the consensus candidate of the party’s establishment. As they mulled and were courted, a parade of hopefuls with low profiles beyond Capitol Hill — such as Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida, a former state House speaker, and Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah — made the case in huddles and in the hallways that they are ready to be a fresh face for an unsettled House.
McCarthy, too, called for a “new face” during a news conference, asking for unity behind a leadership slate that is not as closely aligned with Boehner and the old bulls who have retained a grip over the House GOP in recent years even as a younger generation of Republicans has ascended. Who that face could be is unclear.
Boehner, who last month said he would resign the speakership after weeks of facing a near-certain revolt from conservatives frustrated by his handling of legislation and what they see as a lack of aggression in countering President Barack Obama’s agenda, said he will “serve as speaker until the House votes to elect a new speaker.”
The leadership slots below Boehner and McCarthy — majority whip and chief deputy whip — are occupied by Steve Scalise of Lousiana and Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, respectively. Both have served in the House for a decade or less and are inexperienced as national spokesmen. That left Republicans searching Thursday for new names to add to mix.
King floated Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., a respected former House GOP campaign chairman, as a person who could be a calming presence. Several conservatives suggested House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Dallass, a former leadership member who has strong relationships with the party’s conservative bloc.
Others on the right said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which was wary of McCarthy, would best reflect the political mood of the House. But Jordan told reporters that he was not interested.
Another House Republican who drew interest was Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., who is chairing the House Select Committee delving into the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya. But as the boomlet began, Gowdy said “no” when asked by reporters whether he would consider running.
Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., who has been a front-line participant in the latest talks about the future of the GOP, also mulled his options. So did Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, the conference chairwoman and the party’s highest-ranking woman, and House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price of Georgia, who has harbored dreams of being in the leadership and previously ran unsuccessfully.
Yet none of those members seemed poised Thursday to follow in McCarthy’s footsteps as the front-runner for the gavel.
“My guess is Boehner stays until a replacement has been selected on the floor,” said Rep. Bill Flores, R-Bryan.