Getty Images House Republicans chose Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California to be minority leader in the next Congress.
House Republicans on Wednesday chose Rep. Kevin McCarthy for their top leadership spot in the next session of Congress, putting a close ally of President Donald Trump at the helm as the party returns to the minority in the lower chamber of Congress.
McCarthy, a 53-year-old Californian, fended off a challenge from Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan in a secret-ballot election for minority leader. Jordan is a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus and was expected to win some support from fellow conservatives.
House Republicans also chose Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise as their minority whip, or head vote-counter, and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming to be chairwoman of the House Republican conference. In that role the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney will be in charge of messaging.
McCarthy has built a close relationship with Trump and echoed the president’s priorities when he made his pitch to be House minority leader in the 116th Congress.
“We have seen where Democrats want to take our country,” he wrote to colleagues last week. “Open borders, government-run health care, impeaching President Trump and crushing debt for our kids and grandkids. We simply cannot let that happen.”
Democrats are planning to launch investigations into Trump and his administration, but have also signaled willingness to work with Republicans and the White House on issues including infrastructure and drug pricing.
See: Here’s what the new Congress will try to do — and one i-word isn’t on the list.
In his letter to colleagues, McCarthy eyed the next election cycle and said he’d “helped build a majority from a deeper hole” in the past and will do so again. Democrats may pick up as many as 38 House seats from last week’s midterm elections, once all races are called.
Earlier Wednesday, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was re-elected majority leader by Senate Republicans, and Senate Democrats kept New York’s Chuck Schumer as minority leader.
Read: Democrat Schumer and Republican McConnell retain party leadership roles in Senate.
Elections for House speaker will be held in January. Current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is seeking to retake the speaker’s position she previously held. A small group of Democrats, meanwhile, sounds upbeat about their effort to block the Californian.
See: Anti-Pelosi Democrats confident about blocking her speaker bid.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.85% climbed 2.1% the day after the Nov. 6 midterms. On Wednesday, the Dow gave up a more than 200-point opening gain and turned negative.
Read: Dow stages 300-point U-turn into negative territory as Apple’s stock gives up $200 billion since peak.
