Tuesday, November 15, 2022

From Politico: The GOP's under-the-radar leadership race

Electoral votes are still being counted, but competition now shifts to the party caucuses in both chambers of Congress as they figure out who their leaders are going to be.

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House Republican leadership elections are scheduled to go ahead tomorrow, but conservatives are pushing for postponement until it is clear which party will control the House. The House Freedom Caucus is mulling a symbolic bid by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) for House Speaker that could prevent House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from securing the 2018 GOP votes he would need on Jan. 3 to clinch the gavel in a GOP-controlled House.

That has the potential to force the Republican Conference to back a consensus candidate, backed by both the Freedom Caucus and other GOP members. Signs are pointing to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who at this point says he’s backing McCarthy.

The vision is a coalition-style leadership arrangement, where every decision about legislation, governance and House operations must be cleared by the Freedom Caucus in order to come to fruition.

The plan is risky and far from finalized. The entire Freedom Caucus is not involved in the McCarthy-toppling proposal (although HFC chair Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) is involved) and it could flop altogether.