McCarthy, Scalise, Cheney Set to Be New House GOP Leader Team

(Bloomberg) -- House Republicans are set to elect Representative Kevin McCarthy of California as their leader next year, with Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Liz Cheney of Wyoming likely to fill two other top party leadership posts as the GOP retreats to minority status in the chamber.

That lineup would keep in place two of the party’s top leaders in the House and install former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter in the No. 3 slot.

After losing their majority status to Democrats in the midterm elections on Tuesday, Republicans will regroup next week in closed-door meetings at the Capitol. That includes a planned vote of GOP member Wednesday on their leaders for the next Congress, which begins in January.

McCarthy, 53, now the No. 2 House Republican under retiring Speaker Paul Ryan, is consolidating support to become minority leader and likely won’t have trouble securing enough votes within the sometimes fractious GOP membership in the chamber, according to Republican officials.

Scalise’s spokeswoman, Lauren Fine, said the Louisiana congressman, currently the No. 3 House Republican, won’t challenge McCarthy for the top spot. McCarthy and Scalise essentially running as a ticket likely will shut out any chances for Ohio Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the co-founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who has announced he’ll also seek the minority leader job in a challenge to McCarthy.

Cheney, 52, would be the only woman in the leadership team. She’d be replacing Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, who decided not to go for a fourth term in leadership.

House Democrats will choose their leaders in closed-door voting after the Thanksgiving holiday break. Current House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California is the only declared candidate for that party’s top spot, and the favorite to be elected speaker afterward in a January vote on the House floor.

To contact the reporters on this story: Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.net;Anna Edgerton in Washington at aedgerton@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Joe Sobczyk, Justin Blum

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