BOEHNER DEFIANT Says he’d survive recall vote, vows no shutdown
During the interview, which was the first following his shocking resignation on Friday (25 September), Boehner said he “absolutely” believed that the more conservative members of the GOP had been unrealistic. But if he wins, he is likely to face the same pressure that Boehner did to avoid compromising with Obama and other Democrats.
“We spend 16 months or more figuring out who should be the nominee of our party for president, I think… we need to spend more than a week to figure out who the candidates for Speaker are”, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina, told CNN.
McCarthy, 50, struck a note of internal reconciliation in his letter.
“If elected speaker, I promise you that we will have the courage to lead the fight for our conservative principles and make our case to the American people”, McCarthy wrote.
Boehner’s announcement Friday shocked almost everyone, opening a rare chance for ambitious lawmakers to climb the congressional ladder and for competing factions to exert new sway as an anti-establishment fever sweeps GOP politics. He also said there will be no shut down over the funding of Planned Parenthood.
The job description is a tough one – unite a divided House Republican caucus, present a cohesive opposition to the Democrats and to try to pass some legislation. House Republicans were planning to discuss the election process at a Tuesday evening meeting, Massie said. Mr. Boehner has been pushing to keep the government open, having made clear that he doesn’t want a repeat of the situation in 2013, when much of the government was closed for more than two weeks.
Republican U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy, the leading candidate to be the next House speaker, voiced sharp disagreement with President Barack Obama’s foreign policy on Monday with calls for a tougher response to Islamic State and Russian aggression in Ukraine.
A conservative-driven shakeup in Republican leadership is unlikely to improve the House majority’s ability to function amid continued divisions over strategy.
“I worry about who the next speaker would be and the next leadership team, and whether they are going to be able to contribute to a more functional Congress or not”, Yarmuth said.
However, the very reason for his success – his amiability and relationship savvy – is an issue that could return to haunt McCarthy should he succeed Boehner. A significant number of the Republican House conference members were recruited to run by McCarthy himself, who headed up party’s recruitment efforts in 2010.
The big source of contention that is blocking the passage of any funding bill is conservatives’ demands to defund Planned Parenthood.
“We must wage this war against radical Islam as if our life depended on it. Because it does”, said McCarthy, who also reiterated his criticism of the worldwide nuclear deal with Iran. But a Hensarling aide said Monday his boss would not vie for a leadership position.