House Republicans on Thursday overwhelmingly elected Rep. Kevin McCarthy to be majority leader and Rep. Steve Scalise to be majority whip, elevating a pair of lawmakers who promised a more open and conservative approach to running the chamber.
But the new team will quickly have to confront some of the old challenges of trying to hold together a fractious GOP caucus going into the final stretch of legislation before the 2014 midterm elections.
McCarthy, a congenial Californian aligned with his party’s business-friendly establishment, said he hoped to make the House GOP more effective.
“I’ll make one promise: I will work every single day to make sure this conference has the courage to lead with the wisdom to listen,” he said. “And we’ll turn this country around.”
Scalise, a Louisianan who leads an increasingly populist caucus of conservatives, promised to hold the party true to its core principles.
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) says he won a three-way race for majority whip because his coalition was united, and says his election is “a win for America.” ( / The Associated Press)
“We’ve got solid, conservative solutions that are going to solve the problems facing our country,” he said. “We’ve reached out to the president to join us in solving those problems. But we’re going to continue to move forward in the House as a united team.”
[ READ: Scalise’s win brings drama on big day in House ]House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) now has a relatively green leadership team surrounding him, with several fiscal policy fights on the horizon that could again divide the GOP caucus as it has been time and again since it reclaimed the majority in 2010.
With less than 40 days on the legislative calendar before November, the House has a small list of must-pass bills but one that provides several potential pitfalls: Funding for highway programs is drying up, the Export-Import Bank will lose the authority to provide key loans for U.S. companies competing overseas, and a stopgap federal budget must be approved to avoid another government shutdown.
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