UPDATE 11/27: McCarthy is still potentially in trouble, facing a floor fight over the Speaker’s gavel, but McConnell has managed to keep his Senate Minority Leader position.
Are the current House and Senate Minority Leaders, Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Sen. Mitch McConnell, finally going to be given the boot rather than put into the leadership positions that they don’t seem to have the mettle or America First inclination to effectively wield?
Perhaps, as both now face competition in the wave of the red wave that wasn’t: if the GOP does manage to scrounge up a win in the House and control of the Senate, then we’ll need new a new Senate Majority Leader and a new Speaker of the House, and many within the GOP want those positions to be filled by people other than McCarthy and McConnell.
In the House of Representatives, which the GOP looks sure to gain despite only winning a minor victory, GOP Rep. Steve Scalise, the one shot by a crazed Bernie Bro, is positioning himself to win the position. He did so in a letter, writing:
With this bold, conservative agenda in mind, I am asking for your support to be the next House
Majority Leader. The American people deserve a House of Representatives that can move the agenda
that was promised to them on the campaign trail. As your Majority Leader, I will work relentlessly to
usher our vision through the House and show the country how conservative ideas can solve the
problems that families are facing.
You know my leadership style that I’ve displayed as your Whip for the last eight years. I have a proven
track record of bringing together the diverse array of viewpoints within our conference to build
consensus where others thought it impossible. Through conservative victories like the Tax Cuts and
Jobs Act, 21st Century Cures Act, CRAs to reverse radical Obama-era regulations, and trade deals like
USMCA, we came together to enact serious conservative victories. More recently, the Whip Team was
successful in keeping our conference completely unified against the so-called “American Rescue Plan”
and “Inflation Reduction Act.” As your Majority Leader, I will bring the same level of focus and work
ethic to the job so we can all deliver for the American people.
The last four years of Democrat control have caused serious damage to the House of Representatives
and the country. Their top-down approach to legislating has left members and those who we represent
out of the legislative process. As we embark on our historic next chapter in the 118th Congress, I want
to empower committees and individual members to be able to fully participate in a Congress that
works for the people who elected us. We have an extremely talented conference, and we will need all
of our talents and abilities to get our country back on the right track
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[…]We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us. The American people have been clear that it is time
for a new direction in this country. I am proud to be a part of this new House Republican Majority, and
am confident that we will rise to the occasion, pull together, and deliver on our bold, conservative
agenda. I look forward to working with you on the battles ahead as your House Republican Majority
Leader, and I humbly ask for your support.
Scalise’s agenda includes holding the Biden Administration accountable by focusing on oversight of the regime, focusing on pushing quality legislation, and coordinating committees to craft more effective legislation.
Commenting on efforts of rising stars within the GOP to take over the House and oust him from the top position in it, Rep. Andy Biggs told Just the News that McCarthy, if he wants to keep his seat, will have to start actually fighting for conservative priorities, saying:
“Going forward, I don’t know who’s going to end up being the leader. But if it’s Kevin McCarthy, he’s going to have to be far more a little far more tough than he has necessarily shown. He’s picked his battles, but I think Americans want us to actually bring the budget under control, they wanted to secure the border, they want us to just find a way to reduce oil and gas prices, attack inflation, all of that. And you can’t do that by being a passive sideliner or sitting there acquiescing to the Biden administration or trying to get along, you’re going to have to be tough.”
So, whether he wins the position or not, it looks like the MAGA agenda might have someone more willing to champion its priorities in control of the House.
And it’s not just McCarthy who’s facing competition. Current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell isn’t secure in his efforts to become Senate Majority Leader as well. Speaking on the McConnell issue, Senator Josh Hawley, a strong advocate of the MAGA agenda, suggested that the position should be filled by someone else, saying:
“I don’t imagine I will [run for Senate Majority Leader], no. I’m not sure if any other senator will run or not. Nobody’s indicated they would. But my view is that we need new leadership in that position.”
So it’ll take someone stepping up. But, were someone in the GOP to find the courage to do so, we might finally be able to move on from the very establishment McConnell.
Former President Trump, for his part, has suggested that Florida Senator Rick Scott step up and do it, saying:
“McConnell has been very bad for our nation. He has been very bad for the Republican Party. I would be in favor of somebody else — McConnell has done a very bad job. I think Rick Scott is a likely candidate — he hates [Mitch McConnell].”