Boehner sets House leadership vote for Oc t. 29, Chaffetz gets feisty

In the letter, Mulvaney argues that procedurally, further elections can’t be set until other offices – like majority leader, with current No. 2 Rep. Kevin McCarthy running for speaker – are actually vacated.

The battle for the future of the House Republican Conference is not about to end anytime soon.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy squeezes behind outgoing House Speaker John Boehner at the start of a news conference on Capitol Hill on September.

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McCarthy needs conservatives’ support to win the 218 votes needed in the October. 29 speaker election to officially replace Boehner.

On Sunday, Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight committee, joined the contest for speaker, challenging Boehner’s closest lieutenant and presumed successor Kevin McCarthy, the current majority leader.

“The new Speaker will establish the date for these additional leadership elections”, Boehner said in a statement Monday afternoon. “This is a national wave”.

UPDATE — 9:41 pm EST: Chaffetz was possibly referring to something Rachel Maddow highlighted a few days ago: he’s may not be the best at public speaking.

“I don’t expect to put bills on the floor that I would vote for”, Chaffetz said on the show.

Conservatives say McCarthy, who voted with a minority of Republicans last week to avert a government shutdown, will have to chart a course forward while defending his record in leadership.

But that dynamic began to shift, particularly following McCarthy’s gaffe last week suggesting that the objective of a special House committee investigating the deadly 2012 attacks on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, was to drive down Hillary Rodham Clinton’s poll numbers. He said he had not planned to run for speaker but was recruited by Republicans — he would not name them — looking for a fresh face rather than a continuation of existing leadership.

“Knowing Jason as I do, he would not enter into this lightly”, Harding said.

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McCarthy made his pitch to a joint meeting of the House Freedom Caucus, Liberty Caucus, Tea Party Caucus and the Conservative Opportunity Society, then snuck out a side door, avoiding a crush of TV cameras and reporters.

“I think generally, House Republicans have been fairly pathetic in our ability to take the argument to the president, to the Senate and ultimately to the American people”, he told Mitchell.

So on Thursday, a secret-ballot election will be held among Republicans, but only for speaker.

The leadership unrest comes as high-stakes legislative deadlines continue to pile up. House G-O-P hardliners, many of whom are reluctant to support McCarthy are preparing to interview the three candidates for speaker. “Guys are going to have to explain their votes on Planned Parenthood”.

But after more than two hours, they weren’t able to come to a decision on who they will endorse – if anyone at all.

Mitch McConnell, saying he was “absolutely flat-out wrong” to pledge not to shut down the government in negotiations over federal spending. “I’m not giving up on anything there”, he said.

“I feel very good where I’m at”, the California congressman told Jake Tapper on CNN when asked whether he would become the next speaker.