By Ben Kamisar - 09-26-15 09:52 AM EDT
Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) is calling for the House GOP caucus to meet behind closed doors and discuss their path forward in the wake of Speaker John Boehner’s impending resignation.
In a Saturday morning letter to the entire House conference, Roskam calls Boehner’s decision “one of the most remarkable political developments in American history,” but warns against moving too quickly in its aftermath.
“Before we rush headlong into leadership elections, we need to take time to reflect on what has happened and have a serious discussion about why we're here serving, what we expect of our leaders, and how we plan to accomplish our goals,” he writes.
He’s asking his colleagues to sign onto a letter to House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) that formally requests an extended conference meeting in light of Boehner’s resignation.
“If we launch headfirst into leadership elections like this is a typical succession without ever taking the time to diagnose our current ailments,” he writes in the letter to McMorris Rodgers, “we won't heal the fractures in a Conference that has thus far proved unleadable.”
The call for slowing down the process of tapping new leadership comes with lawmakers already jockeying to replace Boehner and potentially other positions that could open as the dominos fall.
Roskam, a former member of House leadership, is weighing a leadership bid of his own. One of his aides told The Hill he’s not currently planning a run, but if he decides to, it would likely be for majority leader.
Early this month, he successfully forced House leadership to change its agenda and hold a vote to charge President Obama with skirting congressional review of the Iran deal. That return to the spotlight for the former chief deputy whip, who helped to turn the conservative House Freedom Caucus’ objections into House action, sparked questions about whether he’s interested in another leadership bid.
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