Republican Infighting Roils Congress As Midterm Elections Continue

Comment Republicans in both houses of Congress challenged their leaders on Tuesday, as frustration over their dismal performance in the midterm elections manifested itself in infighting and instability on Capitol Hill. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) won his party’s nomination for speaker Tuesday afternoon with 188 votes from the GOP caucus — well short of the simple majority needed to win. But 31 lawmakers voted in a challenger, presenting a steep hurdle for McCarthy in January, when he will need 218 votes to win the presidency when the 118th Congress convenes. And in the Senate, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) announced he would challenge Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) during an hours-long air of grievances among party members frustrated by their failure to win the room again. McConnell admitted that the caucus leadership election, set for Wednesday morning, could be delayed if a majority of the caucus votes to postpone it. “I want to say it again — I have the votes, I’m going to be elected,” McConnell told reporters after leaving the party meeting. “The only question is whether we will do it sooner or later.” The rift came just hours before Donald Trump was expected to announce his presidential re-election bid from Florida, adding another note of unrest on the Hill between those who remain staunch allies of the former president and others who are beginning to publicly question whether Trump contributed to the party’s stunning failure to win more seats last week. Midterm elections typically favor the party that doesn’t hold the White House, and many Republicans predicted a “red wave” that failed to materialize in either house, as battleground voters rejected many of the candidates most strongly committed to the false Trump’s claim that he won. 2020 elections. House Republicans are expected to win a slim majority after the remaining congressional races from last week’s election are decided. Senate Republicans lost a seat in Pennsylvania to Democrat John Fetterman and are fighting to drop a seat in Georgia in a runoff vote next month to avoid seeing their numbers shrink further. “This new Republican leadership is ready to get to work,” McCarthy said confidently after the election. But he admitted that with such a small majority, even a few members have a lot of power. “Either we lead as a team or we lose as individuals. “Too far from 218” McCarthy faced a challenge for the speech from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, who on Monday had announced his intention to run. “The American people want us to turn the page. They don’t want excuses or performance, they want action and results,” Biggs tweeted Monday. “The promised red tide turned into a loss of the United States Senate, a slim majority in the House of Representatives, and upset losses for the premier political candidates.” Biggs and other members of the House Freedom Caucus have long been critical of McCarthy, criticism that intensified after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill, in which McCarthy was recorded blaming Trump for the attack and pledging to urges Trump to resign. McCarthy later turned to support Trump and voted against his impeachment efforts. “To believe that Kevin McCarthy is going to be speaker, you have to believe that he’s going to get votes in the next six weeks that he couldn’t get in six years,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). He said he didn’t think McCarthy would become speaker and wouldn’t vote for him in January. Another member of the Freedom Caucus, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) noted, “One hundred and eighty-eight is a long way from 218. I think that just opens up the opportunity for anyone who’s interested to let us know what their vision is. “ The two most recent speakers, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), also faced some initial opposition, but received 203 and 200 votes, respectively, in their bids for speaker. in 2018 and 2015. Those are significantly higher starting points than McCarthy’s in his quest for 218 votes. Biggs has suggested he may not run again against McCarthy in January, however, leaving the McCarthy opposition with no one to rally around. And some members of the Freedom Caucus, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), support McCarthy. To win the presidency in January, McCarthy will likely have to make concessions to some of the most conservative House Republicans. But with his majority so thin, moderate members will also be able to make demands. “He’s going to have to make a deal with the devil, and if he does, he’s also going to have to deal with the centrists and the growing number of moderates in the conference,” said one Republican lawmaker who spoke on condition of anonymity. be honest. “Usually we’re the first to fold, but we won’t this time. It is very important for the future and longevity of our party.” Some members hope that no malfunction will occur. “It’s OK to disagree, to debate … but gridlock doesn’t work, especially with a three- or four-seat majority,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a more moderate member. “We have to work together. And it’s not just for the party, it’s for the country. … We need to have a stable, predictable two-year period.” In other leadership elections, House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) was elected majority leader by voice vote. And Rep. Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.), a onetime centrist turned vocal Trump ally, won re-election as chairwoman of the Republican conference, the No. 3 position in the House GOP leadership. In the Senate, Republicans spent hours Tuesday afternoon locked in a heated, closed-door conversation about why the party failed to pick up a single seat in last week’s election. Many members again called for Wednesday’s leadership election to be postponed, and Scott announced he would formally challenge McConnell for the top spot. Scott’s challenge marks the first contested race for Senate leader for either party since 1996, and one that is shaping up to be at the heart of who deserves to be blamed for the midterm elections. Scott, who chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has drawn much criticism for the way he has raised and allocated funds this cycle, while McConnell, who is associated with a political action committee that has spent more than $230 million on Republican support, has been criticized by Trump. and his allies for not doing more to help failed GOP Senate candidates in Arizona and New Hampshire. McConnell is known for his close commitment to the commonwealth, and so far only a few Republicans have leveled strong criticism against him. Since leaving office, Trump has launched multiple attacks on McConnell and his wife, contributing to some of the fractures within the party. During the hours-long meeting that turned into what one senator had predicted the day before would be “the beginning of complaints,” about 20 senators spoke and some of them got heated, according to Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). who supports Scott and called the meeting a “serious discussion” about where the party goes from here. “Sen. Scott disagrees with Mitch’s approach to this election and the last two years, and he’s made that clear,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who is opposing McConnell for leader. “And Senator McConnell criticized Senator Scott’s management of the NRSC.” McConnell mostly listened during the meeting, according to one senator present, and only intervened a few times when the discussion went “out of line.” The conversation felt like a blame fest. “There was finger pointing at the leader,” said the senator, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the meeting candidly. “He was fingered at the NRSC. There was finger pointing at Trump. There was finger-pointing at candidates who had gone too far to the right and were denied election in the primaries. There were many fingers.” In closing remarks, McConnell told the group that he doesn’t mind being unpopular as long as he makes sure Republican senators are successful. In a lengthy letter to GOP colleagues, Scott said there is “no one responsible for the performance of our party across the country.” He criticized the leadership for not publishing a Republican agenda. Some Republicans expressed skepticism that Scott was the right person to challenge McConnell. “If you’re going to make this about assessing responsibility for losing an election, I don’t know how the NRSC chairman gets away with it,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (RN.D.), who supports McConnell. Others have pointed out that Scott’s decision to release a Republican agenda that included reauthorization votes for Social Security and Medicare and tax increases for low-income people provided a strong line of attack for Democrats this cycle. “If you liked Republicans losing Senate campaigns while burdening the party with tax increases and Medicare cuts, then you’ll love Rick Scott’s campaign for leader,” McConnell adviser Josh Holmes said in a statement. “He has a constituency, but unfortunately for him it’s entirely within the boundaries of the Democratic conference.” Many frustrated Senate and House Republicans had previously called for leadership elections in both chambers to be delayed. On Monday, dozens of conservative leaders sent an open letter to Republican members of Congress urging them to postpone their leadership election until after the Dec. 6 Senate runoff in Georgia. “The Republican Party needs leaders who will confidently and skillfully present a compelling coherent vision of who we are, what we stand for and what we will do,” the letter said. “We strongly urge both Houses of Congress to postpone formal leadership elections until after…