After a blue tidal wave swept them from power, House and Senate Republicans will try to pick up the pieces Tuesday and select their leadership teams for the new Congress.
asserted
Republicans → sweep → Congress
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has already heeded his party’s call for new blood, announcing he will forgo a bid for minority leader and step down from leadership.
asserted
he → heed → leadership
But other GOP leaders in both chambers are fighting to hang on to power in the wake of last week’s historic midterm drubbing.
asserted
leaders → fight → drubbing
In the House, Johnson’s decision has triggered a two-person race for minority leader.
asserted
decision → trigger → leader
Johnson’s trusted top lieutenant and fellow Louisiana Republican, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, is fending off a challenge from Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, the founding chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus.
asserted
lieutenant → trust → Caucus
Both are allies of President Donald Trump and ran unsuccessfully for speaker in 2023 after Kevin McCarthy was ousted.
asserted
McCarthy → run → 2023
The elections will be held behind closed doors and by secret ballot.
asserted
elections → hold → ballot
Candidates will make their pitches to the conference beginning at 9 a.m. ET, with a vote in the afternoon.
asserted
Candidates → make → afternoon
Scalise made the pitch to colleagues that he can unify factions of House Republicans against the “socialists” coming to Washington, while Jordan, a former Oversight Committee chairman, argued that he’s best positioned to combat Democratic investigations of the Trump administration and its allies, telling colleagues he’s “battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats’ playbook.”
asserted
I → make → playbook
Either will need a majority of the conference to vote for him to secure the job.
asserted
Either → need → job
Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., is seeking the whip job, the party’s top vote counter and the No. 2 post in the minority.
asserted
Emmer → seek → minority
But he faces an insurgent challenge from August Pfluger of Texas, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of conservatives on Capitol Hill.
asserted
he → face → Hill
And House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan is trying to beat back challenges from two colleagues: Erin Houchin of Indiana, who holds a lower-level leadership post, and Greg Steube of Florida, who berated the current leadership team for choosing “accommodation over conviction.
asserted
who → try → conviction
“We’re ready to move on.
asserted
We → ’re → ?
We need a pivot,” a House GOP lawmaker who is backing Jordan over Scalise told NBC News on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly about the rival candidates.
asserted
who → need → candidates
“Everything is on the table” after the Democratic landslide, the lawmaker said.
asserted
lawmaker → say → landslide
Thune faces grumbling
Senate Republicans also are poised to hold a closed-door vote Tuesday to pick their leaders.
asserted
Republicans → face → leaders
Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota is running for minority leader, and so far nobody has announced plans to oppose him.
asserted
nobody → run → him
But a small group of Senate Republicans has sought to delay the elections, saying the party needs more time to process the election results.
asserted
party → seek → results
“A week ago, we had the worst election result in decades.
asserted
we → have → decades
We need a discussion about what went wrong, how we fix it, what we stand for, and how our agenda must focus on the concerns of the American people,” Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa., said in a statement.
asserted
McCormick → need → statement
“As I’ve shared with Leader Thune, I don’t believe we should move to leadership elections until we have digested and debated the lessons of the midterms and how to move forward,” he said.
asserted
he → share → midterms
“We need leadership in place fast, but Tuesday is too soon.”
asserted
Tuesday → need → place
Five other Senate Republicans, led by Budget Committee Chairman Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, sent a letter to Senate Republican Conference Chairman Tom Cotton of Arkansas asking for “a robust discussion and evaluation of how those running for leadership intend to lead” before the elections are held Tuesday morning.
asserted
elections → lead → leadership
As in the House, senators’ votes are cast by secret ballot, and candidates require a simple majority of the conference to win.
asserted
candidates → cast → conference
Apart from Thune, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming and Cotton are expected to win their races to stay on as the second-ranked and third-ranked Republicans in the next Congress.
asserted
Barrasso → expect → Congress
Jeffries and Schumer favorites to lead Dems
After last week’s Democratic rout, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both New York Democrats, are favorites to be the next House speaker and Senate majority leader.
asserted
Jeffries → lead → rout
But they, too, face grumbling from rank-and-file members.
asserted
they → face → members
No one has emerged to challenge either for the top jobs, though Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., opened the door Monday to potentially running for majority leader amid a push from the grassroots to find an alternative to Schumer.
asserted
Hollen → emerge → Schumer
A person familiar with Van Hollen’s thinking told NBC News on Monday: “The senator has received an outpouring of calls on running for majority leader and is now in active listening mode.
asserted
senator → tell → mode
The door is not shut.”
asserted
door → shut → ?
Democrats at the Senate’s new-member orientation Monday said the question of their leadership team hasn’t come up in private conversations.
asserted
question → say → conversations
“Most of us are just trying to figure out where our office is and how to find the bathroom,” said Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan, D-Minn.
asserted
Flanagan → try → bathroom
“It’s really exciting to be here and to meet a lot of my colleagues who’ve been campaigning.
asserted
who → ’ → colleagues
I know how hard we’ve been working.
asserted
we → know → ?
And to be here together — it’s really exciting.”
asserted
it → ’ → ?
As for Van Hollen’s potentially running for majority leader, Flanagan said she is “certainly open to new leadership” but is “not ready to make any commitments at this point.”
asserted
she → run → point
Senate Democrats will elect their leadership team in a private meeting in early December, while House Democrats will pick their team next week.
asserted
Democrats → elect → team
Several progressives have said they are undecided about whether to back Jeffries for speaker as grassroots groups urge the party to more aggressively confront Trump and enact progressive policies.
asserted
groups → say → policies
“We’re not withholding votes.
asserted
We → withhold → votes
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
