Allies of Rep. Steve Scalise are bent that Speaker Paul Ryan did not talk with the majority whip before publicly endorsing Rep. Kevin McCarthy as his successor, The Hill reports.
Ryan seems to think he and Scalise were on the same page, telling NBC last week that both he and Scalise supported McCarthy, R-Calif., as the "heir apparent."
Further, Scalise, R-La., has said he would not oppose the House majority leader, consistently saying that he'd be interested only if McCarthy fell short in his bid for the Speakership, as he did in 2015.
But The Hill reports Scalise himself was caught off guard by Ryan's pronouncement.
"My point to Steve would be: you're in no different position than you were before. You already said you weren't going to run against Kevin. Let it all play out. If he can't get it, you're in the same spot you were before," The Hill quoted one Republican lawmaker.
After Ryan's endorsement, Scalise's office put out a statement supporting McCarthy, a move that was seen as being forced upon him by Ryan.
"When a Speaker's race is called, he'll be supporting Leader McCarthy," a Scalise spokesman said.
Regardless, allies of Scalise are bitter.
"That's not the way to run things, especially with a member of your leadership team," one GOP pal of Scalise's told The Hill. "I would hope that there's better communication in the future."
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