Leadership jocking has begun for and against McCarthy leading the House GOP caucus and McConnell leading the GOP Senate caucus….
This is gonna be the storey for Repubican’s Congress for the next two years….
The House….
Conservative House Republicans are pushing for GOP leadership elections to be delayed ahead of closed-door votes next week on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) Speakership bid and other offices.
It’s still not clear which party will control the House, with nearly three-dozen races without a winner. While the GOP is still favored to win the majority, it is expected to be much smaller than once thought, which has given critics of McCarthy an argument to make against him.
“We don’t even know if we have the majority or who’s in the majority,” House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-Pa.) told The Hill in an interview on Thursday. “People haven’t come to Washington, D.C., because they don’t know if they’ve won their races yet.”
“And how can they be expected to vote for a rules package, how we run this place, or leadership if they haven’t met these people, they haven’t heard their pitch?” Perry said.
McCarthy is working to shore up support for Speaker, and members supporting him maintain confidence he will capture the role. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) suggested that those casting doubt on McCarthy’s chances come down to “saber rattling.”…
The Senate…
Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on Friday called for the Senate GOP’s leadership elections to be postponed a day after news emerged that Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) had been considering a long-shot bid to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) atop the conference.
“The Senate GOP leadership vote next week should be postponed,” Rubio tweeted. “First we need to make sure that those who want to lead us are genuinely committed to fighting for the priorities & values of the working Americans (of every background) who gave us big wins in states like #Florida.” …
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Republican leaders have set their elections for Wednesday. McConnell declared in early October that he has the votes to keep hold of his leadership post….
Turmoil Breaks Out Among Capitol Hill Republicans
Punchbowl News: “Turmoil has broken out among Senate and House Republicans, as key lawmakers in both chambers have begun to push against their leadership.”
“A number of prominent Senate Republicans are calling for a delay in the leadership elections which are slated to be held next week…”
“In the House, a number of restive conservatives have said that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is not suited to be speaker of the House if the GOP takes the majority. Most estimates indicate that Republicans can only win 220 seats, leaving McCarthy a two-seat cushion to be elected to the chamber’s top job. A number of Republicans in the House are also calling to delay the leadership election — scheduled for Tuesday — but the leadership has shown little appetite to push it off.”