- Johnson set the tone Wednesday morning when he withdrew from the leadership race, citing the job’s toll on his family.
- A key outstanding question is the extent to which the Republican accusations lead to an overall upheaval in the party’s leadership ranks, rather than a slight readjustment.
Driving the news: The blame game within the party quickly reached fever pitch.
- “Dear Senate and House Republican Leaders, No, the polls were not wrong. You were. Even with record amounts of money at your disposal, you managed to be completely wiped out,” Rep. Greg Steube (R-Florida) wrote on X Wednesday morning.
- “Please do us all a favor and step aside so the new leadership can move in a truly conservative direction,” Steube added.
- “When you have the worst defeat in modern history, you need a new playbook,” another Republican lawmaker told Axios.
State of affairs: The fallout reverberates throughout the House GOP leadership team, with each high position facing a contested race.
- Minority Leader: Scalise and Jordan face off in a rematch of their bitter 2023 battle for the presidency.
- Minority whip: Tom Emmer faces a challenge from Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas).
- NRC President: Rudy Yakym and Brian Jack will compete for the position. Current NRC Chairman Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) is on the verge of losing his own re-election bid.
Zoom: Behind the infighting for leadership, Republicans must reckon with what happened so disastrously on Election Day, with some blaming Trump administration policies for their losses.
- “Iran, Iran, Iran…we should never have gone to war before the midterms,” a Republican lawmaker told Axios.
- Another pointed to “Iran, ICE, inflation, fuel prices, lack of attention to portfolio issues” as factors in the defeat.
- “Iran and the vanity of putting your name on things like the Kennedy Center,” another Republican lawmaker said.
What’s next: House Republicans are expected to elect their next leadership team next Tuesday.
- The winner must secure a majority of House Republicans in a secret ballot.
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