DeLay Ends Bid to
Regain Post as G.O.P. Leader
By CARL HULSE,
NYTimes on the Web, January 7, 2006
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 --
Representative Tom DeLay, under pressure from his colleagues and swept into an
election-year lobbying scandal, on Saturday abandoned his effort to remain House
majority leader, setting the stage for a battle over the House Republican
leadership in a campaign season tinged by corruption.
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CNN
Mr. DeLay
said today that he intends to seek re-election to his seat
representing the Houston suburbs. |
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In letters sent Saturday to fellow
House Republicans and Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Mr. DeLay said he supported the
call for an election of a new leader and was stepping aside to avoid becoming a
political liability as Republicans battle to hold their majority.
"The job of majority leader and the mandate of the Republican majority are too
important to be hamstrung, even for a few months, by personal distractions,"
said Mr. DeLay in the letter to Mr. Hastert, the man he personally picked to
take the speaker's job after a previous round of leadership turmoil in 1998.
In his letter to the Republican conference, Mr. DeLay said that he had "always
acted in an ethical manner within the rules of our body and the laws of our
land."
Aides said Mr. DeLay came to the
decision on his own Saturday morning in Texas. He acted after a group of
House Republicans on Friday began circulating a petition calling for an election
to bar him from the post. Mr. DeLay's support among his colleagues quickly
collapsed after lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a former DeLay ally, pleaded guilty
Tuesday to criminal corruption charges in a case that could also involve other
former senior DeLay aides.
Mr. DeLay intends to seek re-election to his seat representing the Houston
suburbs and reclaim his position on the Appropriations Committee, but he will no
longer wield the power that for years made him one of the most influential
Republicans in the capital and the glue that held the House majority together on
difficult issues.
His decision opens the door to a potentially divisive fight over who should
become the new leader, a chief face of the party as well as the senior floor
strategist.
Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the No. 3 elected Republican who has been
filling in for Mr. DeLay since his September indictment in Texas in a campaign
case, wants the job and believes his success in pushing through difficult budget
and spending legislation in the past few months proved his abilities in tough
times.
But Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, a well-liked lawmaker who served in
the leadership in the past, could pose a threat to Mr. Blunt. On Saturday,
Mr. Boehner quickly issued words of praise for Mr. DeLay in an effort that could
help him attract supporters of the Texan. Boehner allies inside and
outside of Congress have for weeks been quietly preparing for the possibility of
a leadership race.
Others could also throw in their names, including Representatives Mike Pence of
Indiana, Mike Rogers of Michigan and Jerry Lewis of California. The
leadership battle could also have a domino effect and extend to other party
positions.
"It is going to be a race," predicted one senior House leadership aide who did
not want to be identified discussing internal party politics.
Given the rapid pace of events, Mr. Hastert canceled his plans to leave Monday
on a congressional trip through parts of Asia, and Mr. Blunt, also scheduled to
go on the trip, was expected to do the same.
A White House spokeswoman, Erin Healy, reading from an official statement, said,
"We respect Congressman DeLay's decision to put the interests of the American
people, the House of Representatives and the Republican Party first. We
look forward to continuing to work with Speaker Hastert and all House
Republicans to build upon the important accomplishments we have achieved on
behalf of the American people to make America safer and more prosperous."
Mr. Boehner said, "Tom DeLay and I have had our differences over the years, but
I can say without hesitation he is one of the most effective and gifted leaders
the Republican Party has ever known."
Mr. DeLay stepped down from the post in the fall after his indictment in Texas
on campaign-related money laundering charges. But he was aggressively
battling those accusations, and many of his colleagues considered the case
partisan. But the Abramoff plea and the potential involvement in that case
of others who had been close to Mr. DeLay shifted the political dynamic.
House Republicans have stood by Mr. DeLay, who became majority leader in 2002
after serving for years as the party whip, despite a series of rebukes by the
House ethics committee and a ferocious courtship of the lobbying industry that
brought him under attack for having too heavy a hand in encouraging firms to
hire favored Republican lobbyists. Democrats have complained for years
about Mr. DeLay's iron control of the House, his unwillingness to engage the
minority party and his ethical conduct. One Democratic leader said
Saturday that his decision to step down will not spare Republicans from attacks
on their ethics.
"For years, at the expense of the American people, the House Republicans have
enabled and benefited from the Republican culture of corruption engineered by
Tom DeLay," said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic
leader. "The culture of corruption is so pervasive in the Republican
conference that a single person stepping down is not nearly enough to clean up
the Republican Congress."
Those backing the petition drive for a new leader had hoped that Mr. DeLay would
take himself out of the fight rather than have to be forced out by his
colleagues. They calculated that the lawmaker, a masterful tactician,
would realize that it would be best to leave on his own terms should he hope to
return in the future if he is exonerated in the criminal cases. The
petition drive was being backed by members of various factions within the party,
but much of its support was coming from more moderate Republicans and some with
the most challenging races this year.
Kevin Madden, a spokesman for Mr. DeLay, said he made his choice after talking
with staff and other advisers and weighing his options.
"He doesn't see this as being broken," Mr. Madden said. "I think it is
something that he sees as being best for the conference. He now has a new
role and he is going to try to excel."
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