Gingrich Survives New Try to Unseat Him as Speaker

House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), once a political colossus who commanded the loyalty of his party, has escaped a new, more serious effort to oust him from his leadership post, Republican lawmakers and aides say.

The abortive plot, hatched in secret meetings of Gingrich’s critics last week, involved a broader range of Republican members than the small but vocal faction that for months has complained about Gingrich’s trouble-plagued reign as speaker, GOP leadership aides said.

Indeed, key rebels say the coup was fomented by some of the speaker’s own lieutenants at the highest levels of leadership. GOP leaders denied any complicity.

“Any and all allegations that I was involved in some ridiculous plot to oust the speaker are completely false,” said House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas).

As details emerge, the remarkable palace intrigue has cast a deep pall over Republican ranks just as the party is entering a crucial stage of negotiations with the White House on the core GOP issues of cutting taxes and balancing the budget. At a time when Republicans want to focus on getting the best deal possible from the most important legislation likely to be enacted this year, lawmakers and staff are eyeing each other with intense suspicion.

While the House worked on a big domestic appropriations bill Wednesday, the floor was abuzz with private conversations about what happened, who was behind it and what should be done now.

“There is a lot of distrust and confusion among the members,” said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.).

Gingrich’s critics are hoping the episode will impel the speaker to become more attentive to the Republican rank and file.

“This is a very, very loud wake-up call,” said one Gingrich critic, who asked not to be identified by name.

But there were also early signs that other Republican powers may have suffered the most damage in the affair--including, perhaps, Armey, who has been considered the most likely to succeed Gingrich if he leaves the speakership. Several Republicans were openly skeptical of Armey’s claim that he had no part in the plot.

“The big loser turns out to be Dick Armey,” said Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-N.Y.), a Gingrich loyalist. “The clear message is that the overwhelming majority of the Republican conference is not going to be part of this.”

Indeed, when Republicans met Wednesday to fill mid-level leadership posts, candidates most closely associated with the anti-Gingrich faction seemed to suffer. By contrast, one of Gingrich’s favored candidates won handily.

Gingrich and his aides dismissed the matter as a rehash of old rumblings. But he felt the need to address it Wednesday in a closed-door party meeting, which had been called to hold the mid-level leadership elections. “He said, ‘Don’t let this be a distraction. We have too many things to brag about,’ ” said Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.).

This is the latest and most convoluted stage of a controversy about Gingrich’s leadership that has raged all year. Complaints go back at least until January, when Gingrich was reprimanded by the House for ethical lapses.

Later, Gingrich faced complaints from conservatives that he was straying from their principles in compromising with President Clinton on the budget and other issues.

Dissent came to a new head late last week, when about 20 Republican dissidents met with House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) in a late-night session. They discussed options for unseating Gingrich, including bringing a measure before the House declaring the speaker’s chair vacant.

According to DeLay spokesman John Feehery, DeLay was there merely to gauge the dissidents’ discontent. Later, leadership aides said, Armey, DeLay and other Gingrich lieutenants informed the speaker of the threat, and Armey then met with the rebels and urged them to desist so as not to disrupt the party as it was about to score big legislative victories.

But the rank-and-file rebels--not all from the big class of conservatives elected in 1994--tell a very different story. They say DeLay instigated the meeting, spoke in favor of ousting Gingrich and joined in talk of a new leadership lineup.

“DeLay came to the office and told the members specifically: ‘Put up or shut up: Are you going to push him over or not?’ ” said one Republican who attended the meeting.

The fact that the angry group was larger and more politically diverse than previous cabals had been, and the intriguing role of several top leaders, made the move against Gingrich particularly grave.

The secret meetings burst into the open Wednesday in a report in The Hill, a Capitol Hill weekly. During a closed-door party meeting, after Armey denied aiding the plot, an angry ringleader of the dissidents--Rep. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.)--scrambled to get to a microphone to respond but was restrained by colleagues, sources at the meeting said.

Many lawmakers viewed the results of Wednesday’s leadership elections held Wednesday as a show of weakness for the anti-Gingrich faction. The conference elected Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) to be vice chairman of the Republican conference over Rep. Jim Nussle (R-Iowa), a onetime Gingrich protege who has become one of his most vocal critics.

House Republicans also elected Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio) as conference secretary over a field that included Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), whom some lawmakers argue was hurt by reports that she was part of the rebellion.

The controversy may, ironically, help Gingrich hold on to power--if only because rebels are now sure to think twice before they try again.

But it underscores the perilous political waters Gingrich is navigating within his party as he negotiates a final agreement with Clinton on the tax and budget bills. Some conservatives are watching anxiously for signs that Gingrich will concede too much to Clinton on the tax cut, which is already far smaller than they had hoped.