Two weeks after dropping strong hints he might want a third term as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Pete Sessions (Texas) not only ruled it out, but last week, made it clear he was supporting the colleague who has long wanted the campaign post.
The next NRCC chairman will be Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, a strong conservative and close ally of both Sessions and House Speaker John Boehner. Sessions, whose spokesman said he was only ???jesting??? when he told POLITICO that he might seek a third term at the NRCC helm, has signaled he wants to succeed outgoing Rep. David Dreier (Calif.) as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee.
But Boehner reportedly is considering another ally, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (Wash.) for the gavel on Rules.