WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Kevin McCarthy easily won an internal party election Wednesday to take over the shrunken House GOP caucus, a familiar role for the underestimated scrapper whose top priority will be to protect President Donald Trump’s agenda and try to build the party back to retake the majority.

The speaker’s gavel long gone, the race for minority leader was McCarthy’s to lose, but the Californian’s rise was never guaranteed. He’s close to Trump, but the president is also friendly with Rep. Jim Jordan, the conservative Freedom Caucus member, and both faced testy colleagues ready to assign blame after the midterm election losses.

In the end, McCarthy pushed past Jordan, 159-43, according to officials familiar with the closed-door voting.

On the other side of the Capitol, senators chose Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for another term leading Republicans and Chuck Schumer for Democrats in closed-door party elections that lacked the drama of the House contest.

 

Both McConnell and Schumer were chosen as leader by acclamation, according to those familiar with the private caucus meetings. McConnell, the Kentucky Republican who expanded GOP ranks in last week’s midterm, faced no opponent. Democrats returned Schumer’s entire leadership team, despite the failure to capture the majority in the midterms.

Senate Republicans also welcomed the first woman to their leadership team in years, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, as they sought to address the optics of the GOP side of the aisle being dominated by men.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (puh-LOH’-see) is challenging the Democrats who are fighting to stop her from becoming speaker to put forward an alternative.

Asked about the opposition Wednesday, Pelosi noted the lack of a challenger. The California Democrat says, “Come on in. The water’s warm.”

The Democrats seeking to stop Pelosi’s rise claim they have the votes to block her. Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon has said Pelosi “doesn’t have the votes” to become speaker again, in part because of the newly elected members who have promised to oppose her.

House Democrats will not hold their leadership elections until after Thanksgiving. The full House will elect a new speaker in January, after the new Democratic majority is sworn into office.