House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s sudden decision to quit the race for House speaker has left the party with no front-runner for the job and no idea what to do next, other than preventing current Speaker John Boehner from retiring at the end of the month.
“There is no backup plan,” said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., as he left a meeting of the House Republican Conference in which McCarthy was expected to be crowned speaker-designee. “That’s what we are going to be talking about for the next few hours, few days.”
Republican leadership aides said Republicans would huddle Friday morning before Congress leaves town for the week-long Columbus Day recess. But beyond another round of meetings, questions about the future of the speaker’s gavel were met throughout the Capitol with shrugs on Thursday.
“Right now, the one who had a shot of getting 218 on the floor was McCarthy,” said Rep. Mario Díaz Balart, R-Fla. “Nobody else comes close at this stage.”
McCarthy’s move to withdraw came as a surprise to Boehner and it occurred just hours after McCarthy pitched his candidacy to House Republicans in an 8 a.m. forum. According to a House leadership aide, Boehner was alerted to McCarthy’s plan to pull out of the race just moments before McCarthy announced it to the conference.
McCarthy said he was quitting the race because he couldn’t come up with 218 votes needed to become the next speaker. “I’m not your man,” he told the conference, according to lawmakers in the room.
The uncertainty has the potential to put Boehner’s retirement on indefinite hold. Boehner released a statement after McCarthy’s announcement pledging to “serve as speaker until the House votes to elect a new speaker. He added, “I’m confident we will elect a new speaker in the coming weeks.”
But who?
Two other candidates, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., remain in the race, but neither seems to have come close to McCarthy’s level of support.
By the end of the day Thursday, lawmakers were pointing to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as a possible candidate.
“If he would, he’d be great, but I’m afraid he may have too much sense,” said Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas. “We’ll see.”
House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga., added of Ryan that “there are a lot of people who wold like him to run. We’ve talked about it a lot. I think he would be a great speaker.”
But a top aide to Ryan said the lawmaker remains a “hard no” on running for the job, and if he decided to seek the position, he’d face the same obstacles with House conservatives as McCarthy.
Conservatives said they are seeking significant changes to the House rules in exchange for their vote for a speaker who is not Webster or another conservative designee.
“It’s always been about process, that is the key,” said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C. “If Paul can make a compelling case, that is certainly someone to consider.”
Shortly after stunned lawmakers exited the House office building committee room where McCarthy dropped out, some pitched the idea of a “caretaker” speaker who would fill the role until the end of the 114th Congress, which adjourns in December 2016.
“There are members who would step in and calm things down and give us the leadership to bridge this situation,” said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.
But other lawmakers said they were opposed to the idea of an interim speaker, including House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., who said Boehner should remain in the post until a successor is elected.
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, another longtime member, said he doesn’t like the idea either. “I support that there be a permanent speaker,” said Barton, who backed McCarthy.
With McCarthy out, Barton is now uncommitted, but he said another lawmaker will enter the race soon who he declined to name. “I’m sure that will happen,” Barton said.
McCarthy called the speakership “a thankless task,” and said he has spoken to many potential candidates for speaker, who he said “would not even consider running because of the potential strain it would put on their family.”
