With House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingston, R-La., all but anointed speaker of the 106th Congress, the biggest prize up for grabs in the House Republican leadership is now the majority leader's post. And although aides to Majority Leader Armey said he is close to wrapping up his re-election, conservative Rep. Steve Largent of Oklahoma is forcefully disputing those claims while Conference Vice Chairwoman Jennifer Dunn of Washington, who declared her candidacy Monday night, has hit the ground running.
Meanwhile, the names of at least two senior House Republicans-House Oversight Chairman Thomas and House Ethics Chairman Hansen-were being circulated on Capitol Hill as potential entrants into the race. Thomas has not ruled out a bid; Hansen could not be reached for comment. And Rep. Howard (Buck) McKeon, R-Calif., who briefly entered the race, announced today that he has withdrawn his bid and is endorsing Armey.
As with any intraparty leadership election, the candidates' vote counts are moving targets. An Armey aide said today Armey is "very confident that by end of day we will have a clear majority." Armey has lined up the endorsements of several prominent committee chairmen, among them Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio, and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer, R-Texas, along with key moderate Rep. Rick Lazio of New York and influential conservative Reps. Joseph Pitts of Pennsylvania and James Talent of Missouri.
But other House GOP aides said the GOP Conference remains dissatisfied with the current leadership and that Speaker Gingrich's resignation will not be enough to satisfy members' desire for change.
Said one Republican source of the majority leader battle, "I think this is the one race that's wide open. People are still upset with Armey about the coup," referring to Armey's role in the failed attempt by disgruntled conservatives in July 1997 to oust Gingrich. One of those rebels is Largent, who has dismissed Armey's vote count as "a head fake. ... According to our internal counting, Armey has less than 40 votes. The fact of the matter is that there is a huge bloc of undecided voters."
Largent's announced supporters are drawn mainly from the GOP Conference's conservative wing, including Reps. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Sue Myrick of North Carolina, Matt Salmon and John Shadegg of Arizona, and John Doolittle of California-although centrist Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois is a member of Largent's whip team.
An aide to Dunn said it is too soon into her bid to become the House's first female majority leader to offer vote counts, but that Dunn "has placed calls to every member and member-elect, and continues to be encouraged" about her prospects. The aide said Dunn hopes to benefit from what she sees as "the momentum for change and the desire for a new, effective communicator" to tout the party's message.
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