House Republicans swing from "shock" to fury

Kate Santaliz

Reps. Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. Photo: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Republicans woke up "in shock" Wednesday morning after they got hit with the biggest midterms wave in 50 years. Within hours, that shock was turning into rage.

Why it matters: The battle for control of what's left of the Republican conference — headlined by Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Oho) — is the first salvo in a quest to bring GOP lawmakers back from the political wilderness.

Johnson set the tone Wednesday morning, when he took himself out of the running for leader, citing the toll the job has taken on his family.
A key outstanding question is the extent to which Republican finger-pointing leads to a wholesale shake-up of the party's leadership ranks, versus a slight readjustment.

Driving the news: The intra-party blame game quickly hit a fever pitch.

"Dear Republican Senate and House "Leadership," No, the polls were not wrong. You were. Even with record amounts of money at your disposal, you managed to get absolutely annihilated," Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) wrote on X Wednesday morning.
"Please do us all a favor and step aside so new leadership can take a truly conservative direction," Steube added.
"When you have the worst defeat in modern history, you need a new playbook," another GOP lawmaker told Axios.

State of play: The fallout is rippling across the entire House GOP leadership team, with every top position facing a contested race.

Minority leader: Scalise and Jordan are squaring off in a rematch of their bitter 2023 battle for the speakership.
Minority whip: Tom Emmer faces a challenge from Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas).
NRCC Chair: Rudy Yakym and Brian Jack will face off for the post. Current NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) is on track to lose his own reelection bid.

Zoom in: Behind the leadership infighting, Republicans are reckoning with what went so disastrously wrong on Election Day, with some blaming the Trump administration's policies for their losses.

"Iran, Iran, Iran ... we should have never done the war before the midterms," one GOP lawmaker told Axios.
Another pointed to "Iran, ICE, inflation, fuel prices, lack of focus on pocketbook issues" as factors in the defeat.
"Iran and the vanity of putting your name on things like the Kennedy Center," another GOP lawmaker said.

What's next: House Republicans are scheduled to elect their next leadership team this coming Tuesday.

The winner needs a majority of House Republicans in a secret-ballot vote.

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House Republicans swing from "shock" to fury

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