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John:
Good afternoon from Capitol Hill.
Let’s talk about the upcoming election. No, not that one. Plenty of ink will be spilled about November 5th. Let’s talk about the forthcoming Republican congressional leadership elections, which both the House and Senate have now set for November 13. Regardless of how the federal elections shake out, these positions will be incredibly consequential in terms of conservative policy outcomes, the strategies designed to achieve them, and the overall health of our legislature.
The House
The House GOP leadership elections will take place on the afternoon of November 13th following a morning candidate forum. The following positions will be up for election: Leader, Whip, Chair of the Republican Conference, Chair of the National Republican Conference Committee, Chair of the Committee on Policy, Vice-Chair of the Republican Conference, and Secretary of the Republican Conference. You can see who currently occupies each position here. The deadline for announcing a candidacy to these positions is Nov. 12.
Unlike the Speaker, who is elected by the full House (both Republicans and Democrats), the aforementioned leadership positions are elected by the Republican conference in an internal, secret ballot election overseen by the current Conference Chair, Rep. Elise Stefanik. Each position is voted on separately in repeated rounds of balloting until one candidate gets a majority.
House Republicans must also ratify their conference rules – that is, the rules that govern how Republicans in the House will operate. The current GOP leadership has proposed some modifications, which you can see here and explained here.
The process for electing a House Speaker is unique in our legislature. No other leadership position in the Congress – House or Senate – is elected in a public vote by the full chamber. The country got an object lesson in the Speaker election in January 2023, when then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy was vacated from his position and multiple rounds of voting ended in the election of the current House Speaker, Mike Johnson.
The party with the majority will nominate and vote for the Speaker internally as an informal whip before the vote moves to the full House floor, but the floor vote is what elects the Speaker. Speaker votes, as you may recall, are distinct from any other vote in the House – rather than voting by electronic voting card, members are required to vote viva voce, or by speaking the name of their candidate out loud. Once elected, the Speaker is second in line (after the vice president) to the presidency.
The Senate
Senate Republicans will also hold their leadership elections on November 13th. As detailed previously, the Senate GOP is picking a new leader for the first time in 18 years with current GOP leader Mitch McConnell retiring from the position (though staying in the Senate). The current GOP whip, Sen. John Thune, as well as former GOP whip John Cornyn, and Sen. Rick Scott are all vying for the top spot.
There are six positions in Senate leadership, each of which is limited to a 6-year term except the position of Leader. Whether or not the Leader should be subject to a term limit has become an issue in this leadership election, with Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Scott both backing a term limit for the Leader with the support of conservatives. Sen. Thune has not stated a clear position.
Sen. John Barrasso, the current Senate GOP Conference Chair who will oversee the elections, is running unopposed for the position of whip. Sen. Joni Ernst, the current Republican Policy Committee Chair, is running for the Conference Chair and will face Sen. Tom Cotton. Sen. Shelly Moore Capito is running unopposed for Policy Committee Chair, and Sen. James Lankford has put his bid in to be the Conference Vice-Chair (the position currently held by Capito).
Like the House, each of these positions are elected by secret ballot, behind closed doors (Senate Republicans generally hold their elections in the Capitol, in the Old Senate Chamber). Conservatives have put forward a number of reforms they’d like to see, and are viewing this leadership election as a proxy for reforming conference governance. To that end, Sen. Mike Lee is hosting a candidate forum for the three declared candidates for leader for them to share their views with the conference.
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One More Thing…
Tom Jones, founder of the American Accountability Foundation, was profiled in the Washington Post for his work identifying Department of Homeland Security employees who are explicitly undermining the department’s mission to secure the border and limit illegal migration.
Sincerely,
Rachel Bovard
Vice President of Programs
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