After squeaker, Mccarthy speaker?
Republicans deal with fallout from diminished return
WASHINGTON — The promise of a red wave receding, Republicans on Wednesday faced the stark reality that any return to power would mean presiding over a narrowly split Congress, and the party’s dismal performance weakened House GOP leader Kevin Mccarthy as he reaches for the speaker’s gavel.
If Republicans pick up the remaining seats needed to break the Democrats’ one-party hold on Washington, Mccarthy could rise to the position he has long wanted, but he would almost certainly be diminished.
“Look, we were told we were going to have an incredible, incredible wave,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-ariz., a leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, in an online streaming show.
“If that would have been the case,” with a 20-, 30- or 40-seat margin, “you would say, ‘Well, OK, Kevin is the presumptive Republican nominee for speaker. But I think we need to have a serious discussion.”
Meanwhile in the evenly divided Senate, the battle for control remained in flux in close races in Arizona and Nevada, and the Georgia race headed to a Dec. 6 runoff.
Republicans ran into stiff competition in their march across the country, dashing hopes for the sweeping gains they had promised. Instead they inched toward what could be another Congress in which the two parties are separated by just a few seats.
If Republicans prevail, such an outcome in the House would pose a great challenge for the GOP and particularly for Mccarthy.
He would need to lasso a new generation of Republicans, many of them outsiders and newcomers inspired by former President Donald Trump and eager to confront President Joe Biden with investigations.
Mccarthy would have little room to maneuver in a narrow House where each member can leverage their vote to advance personal priorities.
Routine votes to fund the government or raise the nation’s debt limit would then have the potential to trigger crises and gridlock across federal operations, as has happened in the past.
Mccarthy has been here before. He sought the speaker’s gavel in 2015, only to see it slip from his grasp in a backlash from the party’s conservative flank.
“Earning the majority is only the beginning,” Mccarthy wrote Wednesday in a letter to colleagues asking for their support to become speaker ahead of an internal party vote scheduled for next week.
“Now we will be measured by what we do with our majority,” Mccarthy said. “Now the real work begins.”
While no rivals emerged publicly Wednesday to challenge him, stirrings of the difficulty ahead for Mccarthy were clear as other members threatened his ambitions.
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida renewed his support for Rep. Jim Jordan, a founder of the Freedom Caucus and a previous challenger to Mccarthy for the gavel. Jordan has signaled that he would back Mccarthy.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s future also remained uncertain. A narrowly held House could prompt her and other Democratic leaders to stay in office rather than retire, as many expected would happen if Democrats suffered a wipeout.
On a midday call with the House Democrats’ campaign team, Pelosi briefed lawmakers on the party’s “remarkable achievement,” according to a person familiar with the call who spoke on condition of anonymity. Lawmakers were told there was still a narrow path for Democrats to hold control.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Biden said he has not had much occasion to talk with Mccarthy. While the makeup of the House remained to be seen, the president said he was “hopeful” that he and Mccarthy could “work out a modus vivendi,” or an agreement to coexist.
With only a slim majority, Republicans could still bring a new intensity to Capitol Hill and threaten to end Biden’s most ambitious plans.
But the mood among Republicans was tense as Democrats delivered a surprising run of the map in places Republicans expected to claim as their own.