House Republicans have tentatively scheduled their first closed-door leadership election for mid-November, despite conservative efforts to delay the vote until the new year.
Lawmakers are slated to cast the first votes nominating a candidate for speaker during a conference meeting on Tues., Nov. 15, according to a calendar obtained by POLITICO. That’s the day after they return from their election break.
Nothing has been officially noticed. But the calendar suggests GOP leadership is not at the moment inclined to grant conservatives’ request to postpone elections until after the lame duck session.
Since mid-September, members of the House Freedom Caucus have weighed whether they should ask leadership to push back the elections so they can see how House Speaker Paul Ryan performs at the end of the year before casting a “yea” or “nay.” Conservatives want him to commit to a number of House rules changes and see how he handles the end-of-year spending battle with Democrats and the White House.
In past years, the first leadership-nomination conference is typically held the week after lawmakers return from Election Day.
What’s more, the conservative group has not yet submitted the official delay request to GOP leaders, though media have reported on it extensively. They’re currently circulating the document to try to win more signatures.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/house-republicans-leadership-election-november-230427#ixzz4OOB2xtch
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