Boehner, Sessions win GOP leadership posts

On Wednesday, two weeks after taking a beating at the polls, House Republicans elected their new leadership team.

The votes were by and large anticlimactic, as the favorites in the three contested races triumphed. Rep. John Boehner (Ohio) defeated Rep. Dan Lungren (Calif.) for minority leader, Rep. Pete Sessions (Texas) ousted Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.) for National Republican Congressional Committee chairman and, as expected, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.) retained his leadership post by winning more votes than Rep. Michael Burgess (Texas).

Vote counts were not released. The Sessions-Cole contest did not go to a vote, as Cole bowed out before a tally was taken on Wednesday.

Leaders touted their unity after the votes.

“We know that we have a lot of work ahead of us. We are united in the thought that we are going to show an honest opposition to the administration of the president-elect; we will serve as a check and balance to the power of President-elect Obama and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.],” newly minted Republican Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) said. “We have committed ourselves to [putting] forward a very specific proposal … that will be very heavy on reform.”

But even those standing before the microphones inside the chilly foyer of the Longworth House Office Building on Wednesday afternoon will likely find themselves divided on issues facing the 111th Congress, just as they did on key issues such as the so-called bailout of financial institutions in October.

New conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.), Policy Chairman McCotter, conference Vice Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Conference Secretary John Carter (R-Texas) all voted against the bill, while Cantor, Sessions and Boehner voted to support the $700 billion rescue package.

Moreover, Democrats are expected to start 2009 with a bipartisan agenda that will likely fracture the GOP. Two years ago, House Republicans were split on whether to back the Democrats’ “Six for ’06” platform.

Meanwhile, the troubled auto industry, which is seeking billions in new government loans to save it from financial ruin, will also prove to be a difficult decision for Michigan Republicans — such as McCotter — whose districts are dependent on the jobs that the Big Three automakers provide.

And with immigration, trade and healthcare issues on the horizon, Boehner’s new team will have their work cut out for them.

The GOP also faces some of the same challenges that caused the last leadership team to struggle, such as returning House Republicans to their fiscal conservative roots and dealing with earmark reform.

Members are hopeful that the addition of conservatives like Pence, who helped lead the charge on the successful GOP August energy protest, to the leadership ranks could help.

His former constituency as the chairman of Republican Study Committee (RSC) — the membership of which now makes up the majority of the House Republican Conference — could be the toughest sell for the new leadership team. Many members were displeased that a serious challenge could not be mounted against Boehner and were discouraged by GOP leadership’s backing of the economic rescue legislation.

Rep. Tom Price (Ga.) was nominated to head of the RSC on Wednesday.

The Boehner-Lungren debate behind closed doors did not impress many members as the two men made their case to lead the House GOP. One observer called the scene — attended largely by RSC members — “sad.”
“Everyone seems lost for a direction to the majority,” the source said.