Kevin McCarthy selected to lead House GOP
157 views · Published 19 November 2018 · 2:03 · Indexed 12 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(14 Nov 2018) Republican Kevin McCarthy easily won an internal party election Wednesday to take over the shrunken House GOP caucus, a familiar role for the underestimated scrapper whose top priority will be to protect President Donald Trump's agenda and try to build the party back to retake the majority. The speaker's gavel long gone, the race for minority leader was McCarthy's to lose, but the Californian's rise was never guaranteed. He's close to Trump, but the president is also friendly with Rep. Jim Jordan, the conservative Freedom Caucus member, and both faced testy colleagues ready to assign blame after the midterm election losses. In the end, McCarthy pushed past Jordan, 159-43, according to officials familiar with the closed-door voting. Rounding out the GOP leadership team will be Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, a daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, who wants to bring a more aggressive stance to the GOP's communications and messaging strategy in the No. 3 spot. In the lead-up to Wednesday's election, McCarthy and Jordan encountered frustration, finger-pointing and questions as lawmakers sorted through an election defeat and began considering new leadership for the next congressional session. McCarthy acknowledged that changes needed to be made if Republicans are to win back the House in the next elections. "We took a beating inside the suburban areas," said Rep. McCarthy. "We're going to have to work harder. I think our message is going to have to be clear. Our ideas are going to have to be stronger." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/369e84d75e0825103897bcce7da86381
