House leaders move quickly to consolidate power in show of confidence for Republican takeover
The top three House Republican leaders are all running for their roles in the new Congress, a show of confidence that the GOP will prevail in winning full control of the federal government.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., sent letters to fellow House GOP lawmakers on Wednesday night asking for support to remain in those positions.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., made a similar entreaty on Thursday morning.
The current House leadership lineup is not expected to face significant challenges if Republicans prove successful in keeping the chamber.
Each promised to work in support of conservative policies alongside President-elect Trump in separate letters obtained by Fox News Digital.
"We can secure our borders, prioritize the needs of Americans above foreigners, promote investment and opportunity through the tax code, return to American energy dominance, dramatically reduce regulations, expand school choice, end the woke agenda, and restore fiscal sanity to Washington – among other pressing items," Johnson wrote in his letter.
"I’m ready to take the field with all of you, and I am humbly asking for your support to continue leading this Conference as your Speaker."
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Scalise’s letter was a four-page memo detailing how congressional Republicans would pass significant conservative reforms using a legislative process called "reconciliation."
Reconciliation is a way to fast-track legislation on issues like taxes, the debt limit, and federal spending by bypassing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for passage, instead lowering it to a simple 51-vote majority.
But Scalise signaled Republicans would test those boundaries next year.
"Though there are Senate rules limiting what we can fit in budget reconciliation, I want us to be bold and creative so we can include as many reforms in this package as possible," he said.
"Democrats expanded what is traditionally allowed in reconciliation, and we intend to do the same. Now is the time to go big to advance conservative policies that will make our country prosperous and secure again."
Emmer in his letter emphasized his role as whip in convincing Republicans to come together on legislation, even conceding that it was a difficult mission at times during the exceptionally disorderly 118th Congress.
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"We will always have disagreements over policy and strategy. That’s a good thing. Governing is messy and imperfect. But I have always believed that there is more that unites us than divides us," he wrote. "I’ve witnessed this as your Whip, bringing together members from across our conference to hash out these disagreements and find a path to 218 votes."
"I will always be direct, honest, and transparent. I will never make false promises or try to buy your votes."
Meanwhile, Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who is term-limited as chair of the Republican Study Committee, the House GOP’s de facto conservative think tank, has announced a bid for House Republican Policy Committee chair.
The role, currently held by Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., is the No. 5 position in the House GOP leadership lineup.
In his appeal to Republicans, Hern emphasized his good relationship with Vice President-elect JD Vance from his brief time in the U.S. Senate.
The No. 4 House Republican leader, House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is expected to run for her current position again, though Fox News Digital is also told that she is angling for a Trump administration role as ambassador to the United Nations. Her spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
House Republicans are slated to hold their leadership elections on Wednesday next week, their first full day back in Washington since September.
The balance of power in the House has not yet been decided – something House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has pointed out in multiple public statements – but the speedy consolidation of power is a sign Republicans are feeling good about their chances.
The Fox News Decision Desk put odds slightly in favor of the GOP in a Wednesday afternoon update.