Pennsylvania Congressman Guy Reschenthaler seeks leadership position in US House, sources say
Pennsylvania Congressman Guy Reschenthaler is asking his colleagues to elect him the majority whip of the Republican conference in the U.S. House of Representatives.
With a leadership shake-up because of Kevin McCarthy's removal as speaker, sources tell KDKA-TV political editor Jon Delano that Reschenthaler is making a lot of calls to his Republican colleagues, actively seeking the third-ranking leadership position after House speaker and majority leader.
The Peters Township Republican was chief deputy whip while McCarthy was speaker.
Reschenthaler voted to keep McCarthy in power.
McCarthy's stunning removal has left the House adrift as Republicans struggle to bring order to their fractured majority and begin the difficult and potentially prolonged process of uniting around a new leader.
The House convened briefly Wednesday and then went into recess, with North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, the caretaker speaker pro tempore, serving in the job with very little power for the foreseeable future. Other Republicans left Washington, awaiting the next steps.
The House will try to elect a speaker as soon as next week. The timing is nowhere near certain as Republicans line up for their chance at the gavel amid the bitter divisions that sparked the chaos.
The House majority leader, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., is in line for the post, but he faced an immediate challenge from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the Judiciary Committee chairman and a favorite of conservatives, who quickly announced his own candidacy. Others are expected to emerge.
McCarthy, who has yet to weigh in on who should be his successor, said Wednesday that he's good friends with both men.
He added that "both would do great in the job."
Many doubt that anyone can get the 218 votes needed to become speaker. Voting for McCarthy in January took 15 excruciating rounds even though he was the consensus choice of the GOP conference.
House Republicans plan to meet next Tuesday evening at the Capitol for a first round of internal party voting.
"I think the circus stuff needs to happen behind closed doors," said Rep. Garret Graves, R-La.
It is shaping up to be wide-open battle just as Congress faces a new deadline to fund the government by mid-November. Work on that legislation in the House is on hold due to the vacancy in the speaker's office, creating the potential for extended paralysis.
The more immediate challenge for Republicans is moving past the extraordinary strife that has plagued their conference in recent weeks. The raw feelings were apparent at a closed-door meeting Tuesday evening where members unloaded their anger at the eight Republicans who joined with Democrats to depose McCarthy.
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., pointed at the lawmakers who voted against McCarthy and said, "I've never been part of a worse team," according to a Republican in the room who was granted anonymity to discuss the private session.