Greg Steube to run for House GOP conference chair

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) is running for House GOP conference chair, setting up a three-way contest with Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) and the conference’s current chair, Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.).

A source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill that Steube is entering the race. The GOP conference chair will play a pivotal role in shaping the party’s messaging as Republicans move into the minority next year after Democrats swept both chambers in Tuesday’s elections.

The Florida Republican’s bid comes after he sharply criticized House and Senate GOP leadership in a post online a day after the midterms, calling them “embarrassingly weak and more afraid of governing conservatively than of disappointing the voters” who put Republicans in office.

“Instead of standing firm on our principles, you have governed out of fear, continually knelt to the moderates in our conference (who all got crushed last night anyway), and discarded conservatives like me who warned of last night’s results,” Steube continued. “Please do us all a favor and step aside so new leadership can take a truly conservative direction, with the courage to do the things we were elected to do.”

He also told Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight” on Wednesday that he is considering running for a leadership role.

“I just don’t think that we should be putting the same people who were messaging the last two years, and we lost 30-something seats,” the lawmaker said. “Why would you put them back in the exact same positions and think that the outcome is going to be different in two years?”

Houchin said in a “Dear Colleague” letter to Republicans on Wednesday that she’s spent “over twenty years in public relations, communications, and campaigns” and that the conference should choose her.

McClain, meanwhile, touted endorsements from dozens of House Republicans, as well as two GOP candidates who were elected to Congress this cycle, in a post on social platform X.