House Republicans facing primary challenges over their vote to impeach former President Donald Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 ransacking of the U.S. Capitol are being left to fend for themselves by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The NRCC receives a significant percentage of its funding from dues paid by House Republicans, money transferred from their personal campaign accounts, or raised for the committee directly. But Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the NRCC chairman, is planning to maintain a policy from the last election cycle that precludes the committee from intervening in GOP primaries, whether in open seats or in districts where Republican incumbents are fighting for survival.
“The NRCC does not get involved in primaries,” NRCC spokesman Michael McAdams said Friday.
The committee’s hands-off approach could leave the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in encouraging grassroots supporters to march on the Capitol vulnerable to ouster. There are indications conservative activists and rank-and-file voters angry with the Republicans who supported impeachment are looking to exact punishment for their disloyalty. Trump was impeached a second time one week before his White House term expired.
The former president, who in the past has threatened to gin up primary challenges against Republicans who cross him, could be the one to lead the charge to unseat the members of his party who sided with Democrats on impeachment. Out of office barely two full days, Trump adviser Jason Miller said there was “no additional news yet” on that front.
The Republicans under fire include Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the No. 3 ranking House GOP leader; Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio; Rep. John Katko of New York; Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois; Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse of Washington state; Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina; Reps. Peter Meijer and Fred Upton of Michigan; and Rep. David Valadao of California.
All could face intraparty challenges in 2022, with opponents in some districts already emerging. And although the NRCC is sidelining itself from their defense, the 10 could receive air cover from another organization aligned with the party: the Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC affiliated with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.
McCarthy is expected to back the 10 Republicans who impeached Trump personally and could provide material support for their reelection in whichever fashion is most productive. In 2020, the Congressional Leadership Fund played in GOP primaries to protect veteran Texas Reps. Kevin Brady and Kay Granger, the top Republicans on the House Ways and Means and House Appropriations committees, respectively.
The super PAC could follow McCarthy’s lead into the 2022 primaries to defend some or all of the 10 Republicans.
“We’ve intervened in primaries at times in the past to support strong members of the House GOP Conference,” Congressional Leadership Fund President Dan Conston said. “We’ll be closely monitoring incumbent and offense seat primaries to be in the strongest position possible to win back the majority next November.”
