But conservatives this week have suggested that they could get behind Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as a new Speaker.
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The No. 2 House Republican and the chairman of the powerful Ways and Means committee are putting the hex on any conservative coup to topple House Speaker John Boehner – and calling for an end to palace-like “intrigue” and GOP infighting.
Senior House Republicans are beginning to close ranks behind Boehner, blunting conservatives who are trying to oust the speaker because they’re frustrated he isn’t more confrontational with President Barack Obama.
Talk of unseating Boehner is not new, but this latest uprising is getting a jolt from the Republican presidential campaign, in which antiestablishment sentiment has driven two nonpoliticians, Donald Trump and Ben Carson, to the front of the pack.
Speaker of the House John Boehner speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
For his part, Scalise has been asking lawmakers to commit to him in a race for majority leader if one develops, Politico reports.
That move would, he wrote in a letter, “alienate the public from the pro-life cause at precisely the time when undercover videos of Planned Parenthood’s barbaric practices are turning public opinion in our favor”.
Still, Boehner’s tenuous hold on power, exacerbated by conservative demands to cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood, has set off some jockeying for position in the upper ranks of the House GOP hierarchy should he fall. Separately, they would aim to pass a measure to defund Planned Parenthood through a process known as “budget reconciliation” that would bypass a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.
Speaker of the House John Boehner speaks during a press conference… “That’s what his job is, and he’s going to continue to do that”.
“I’m not going to support a “vacate the chair” until we got somebody I think can do a better job than Boehner”, Farenthold said Thursday.
Boehner said Thursday that he would not lose a vote on his stewardship, deflecting a question of his level of confidence with a one word answer: “Very”. In January, 25 House Republicans refused to back the speaker.
But there are major roadblocks to bringing a continuing resolution to the floor for a vote.
Despite the outward displays of confidence, leadership has been consumed by the issue since returning last week from a 40-day recess. “We strongly urge you to keep the House of Representatives in session every day from now until we reach a deal”.
By Thursday morning, there was still no clear path to keep the government open, Boehner said.
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The informal discussions among members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are preliminary and informal, multiple GOP lawmakers tell The Hill.
