WASHINGTON - Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, is not seeking a higher leadership position in the wake of House Speaker John Boehner's resignation, a spokeswoman said Monday.
Boehner abruptly announced last week that he would retire at the end of October, raising questions not only about the fate of pending legislative fights but also who would succeed him.
Observers have long speculated that Hensarling had his eye on ascending to the leadership. Following Boehner's announcement last week, Hensarling's spokeswoman said the Texas lawmaker was "considering his options."
But it appears will not join the crowded field of those looking to rise. "After prayerful consideration, Chairman Hensarling is not a candidate for a leadership position," the spokeswoman said in a statement Monday.
The conservative lawmaker similarly declined to run last year when then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor was unseated in the Virginia primary. Hensarling previously served as the Republican conference chair, the party's No. 4 position.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the current majority leader, is said to be the leading candidate for the speaker position, with several top GOP candidates vying to replace McCarthy as majority leader. Hensarling will back Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., for that spot, the spokeswoman added.
Hensarling's committee has a busy week ahead of it, with the semi-annual report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau scheduled for Tuesday, as well as mark-up of a series of bills, including three on credit unions' radar screens: HR 1090, a bill related to the Department of Labor's new fiduciary responsibility rule; HR 1266, a bill to replace the single director of the CFPB with a five-member board and HR 2769, the "stop and study" bill on NCUA's risk-based capital proposal.
