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 The House Freedom Caucus, a group of the most conservative
Republicans, hope to form a voting bloc of up to 60 members to rally
around a single candidate for Boehner's job and other leadership
positions that open up.
While the group has not identified a favored candidate,
Representative Mick Mulvaney, a founding member, said on Sunday that
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has the "inside track" to be
the next speaker.
"I think the important question is, will things change?" Mulvaney
told Fox News Sunday. "Will they change for the better or will we
simply replace Mr. Boehner with somebody else who does the same
thing?"
 Some conservative Republicans have been calling for new leadership
because they believe Boehner has too often relied on Democrats to
pass critical legislation and was not taking a hard enough stance
against funding for women's healthcare provider Planned Parenthood
amid an abortion controversy.
The Freedom Caucus will start to interview candidates as early as
Monday, a Republican aide said.
The group said in a statement that the interviews will discuss how
candidates will "follow regular order in the House and give a voice
to the countless Americans who still feel that Washington does not
represent them," the group said in a statement. Thus far, a
serious challenger to McCarthy has not emerged, though some
Republican aides said that House Financial Services Committee
Chairman Jeb Hensarling is weighing a run. A Hensarling spokesman
could not be reached for comment.
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Pressure for lightning-fast leadership votes appeared to subside
over the weekend as Republican Representative Peter Roskam said he
had secured enough signatures to call for a meeting of the
Republican conference before elections to discuss a strategy to
unify the party.
"It’s clear our members believe that we need a plan, not a person,
to heal the fractures within our majority," Roskam said in a
statement.
House Republican aides said three lawmakers are already seeking
support for McCarthy's job should he become speaker: Steve Scalise,
who holds the party's No. 3 House job, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, also
a member of party leadership, and House Budget Committee Chairman
Tom Price.
Spokespersons for all three declined comment or could not
immediately be reached.
(Editing by Eric Walsh)
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