The House GOP will vote on its new leaders Oct. 8, Speaker John A. Boehner announced Wednesday, setting up a compressed window for Republicans to try to heal numerous scars that have developed in the wake of Mr. Boehner’s surprise retirement.
Mr. Boehner’s move likely ensures his top lieutenant, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, succeeds him as speaker, since it gives less time for opposition to develop.
But it also means Republicans will have to move quickly to address the myriad problems and suggestions that have popped up in the days since Mr. Boehner’s announcement.
Among those are potential changes to conference rules over how leadership elections are done, and even bigger changes to how the GOP runs the chamber floor.
“After consulting with our conference, a large majority of our members have made clear they want these elections held next week,” Mr. Boehner said in a statement.
Mr. Boehner relinquishes his role as speaker — and his seat in Congress — at the end of October, meaning an election must happen before then.
Some conservative Republicans in the House had been pushing for a slower approach to replacing him, saying they wanted a fully developed debate where candidates would lay out their plans on everything from immigration policy to the way bills are brought to the chamber floor.
But with a week-long vacation due in mid-October and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s long-awaited appearance before the House committee probing the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attacks scheduled for the week after that, the calendar pressed for an earlier vote.
If Mr. McCarthy wins the speakership, it will mean a fight for his old post of majority leader, and that could leave yet other slots open, creating a shakeup that conservatives want to try to take advantage of.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.