Prominent conservatives pump the brakes on McConnell and McCarthy's GOP Leadership dreams


Still reeling from what has widely been seen as an underwhelming showing in this year's midterm elections, congressional Republicans are now facing a growing movement to delay the scheduled leadership votes that will determine who will set the GOP agenda in the coming legislative session.
In a letter obtained by outgoing Axios reporter Jonathan Swan on Monday, a slate of conservative notables "strongly" urged House and Senate Republicans to postpone choosing their respective caucus leaders until after the Georgia runoff election is decided on December 6. Citing the need for GOP leaders who will "confidently and skillfully present a persuasive coherent vision" for the party's future, the letter is notable not just for what it says, but for who is saying it; signatories include Mark Meadows, onetime chief of staff to former President Donald Trump, and Ginni Thomas, wife of conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. All told, the dozens of conservative notables behind the letter represent a major nexus of right-wing influence and finance at the highest levels.
Calls for leadership election delays have grown stronger from within Congress as well. While prospective speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) leadership bid has been complicated by growing dissent within his caucus ranks over the GOP's razor-thin majority in the coming term, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has also begun receiving pushback from his colleagues, most recently including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) who claimed on Sunday evening that not delaying a leadership vote would be "disrespectful" to Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Unlike McCarthy, McConnell's role hasn't been directly challenged by his fellow senators to date. However, President Trump has renewed calls to oust the longtime Senate leader in the wake of the midterms. Though at the moment it seems unlikely McConnell — widely regarded as the most effective conservative tactician in decades — will actually be removed from his leadership position, Trump's invectives have exacerbated the growing rift within the party among MAGA-aligned lawmakers angered over what they deem an unforgivable failure on the part of establishment GOP figures in the last election, and with an eye towards 2024, as well. Should Republican senators once again elect McConnell as leader, he may enter the coming legislative term expending more energy than ever before on maintaining fragile unity within a caucus nevertheless headed toward an unavoidable ideological schism.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
Southern barbecue: This year’s top three
Feature A weekend-only restaurant, a 90-year-old pitmaster, and more
-
Film reviews: Anemone and The Smashing Machine
Feature A recluse receives an unwelcome guest and a pioneering UFC fighter battles addiction
-
Music reviews: Geese, Jeff Tweedy, and Mariah Carey
Feature “Getting Killed,” “Twilight Override,” and “Here for It All”
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US