WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 - House Republicans began trying to put themselves back on course Friday after a leadership election that exposed party fractures and a crisis of political confidence.
"We have to rebuild our team and bring our members closer together," Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the newly elected majority leader, said after meeting with Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and fellow House leaders. "It has been a tough year, and the members on the Republican side are looking at their own re-election, and the environment right now is not real good."
Mr. Boehner and other senior Republicans said a retreat scheduled for next week on the Eastern Shore of Maryland would provide an opportunity for lawmakers to explore what they want to stand for as a party in light of a corruption scandal and dissent within the rank-and-file.
"We are just going to do more soul-searching," said Representative Deborah Pryce of Ohio, chairwoman of the Republican conference and an organizer of the retreat.
Republican division was on vivid display on Thursday as House members installed Mr. Boehner in the No. 2 spot, rejecting Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the party whip who had been serving as majority leader since Representative Tom DeLay of Texas resigned after being indicted.
On Wednesday, House Republicans rejected a call for a full slate of leadership elections, but 85 lawmakers backed the idea on a secret ballot, a number that caught the leadership off guard.
During the closed-door voting for majority leader, some who spoke in support of Representative John Shadegg of Arizona challenged their colleagues to deal with the idea that House Republicans appeared adrift after more than a decade in power.
"Duke Cunningham, Jack Abramoff and the ongoing and disgusting saga of abuse of power and public trust are not just made up by the Democrats," said Representative Mark Souder of Indiana in nominating Mr. Shadegg, according to remarks made available by Mr. Shadegg's office on Friday. "We were put in power to be different," Mr. Souder added. "What has happened to us?"
The references were to the plea to bribery charges by Mr. Cunningham, a former representative from California, and a similar admission of guilt by Mr. Abramoff, a prominent lobbyist.
In a speech seconding Mr. Shadegg's nomination, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin said: "Friends, we are in trouble. If you come from a red state or safe seat, you probably don't see it yet. But if you come from a blue state and a tough district, that moment is here."
Although Mr. Shadegg fell short after the first ballot and dropped out of the race, lawmakers said speeches by Mr. Souder and others helped create an atmosphere where Republicans concluded they needed to start anew at the majority leader level and could not promote Mr. Blunt.
"I think our members were looking for a new face at the leadership table," said Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the chief deputy whip. "I think that pretty much explains the outcome."
In addition to dealing with internal turmoil, House Republican leaders will receive President Bush's budget next week and try to reach agreement with the Senate on tax cuts, which Mr. Boehner said Friday were crucial to maintaining economic growth. And they are struggling to assemble a promised package of changes to lobbying rules, an issue on which the party is divided.
Mr. Boehner favors more immediate disclosure of contacts with lobbyists rather than imposing a series of new limits and bans.
"If you can't go out and justify a $60 meal and see it in the press, well then maybe you shouldn't do it," he said earlier this week. "But if you can, go ahead and do it and let your constituents and the world see what that relationship looks like."
Mr. Hastert, however, has been pushing for a broad package with restrictions on travel and limits on gifts, though he said Friday that "it is not going to be shoved down anybody's throat." The speaker also indicated reluctance to go too far in limiting the ability of lawmakers to win federal dollars for local projects, a change some say is needed to reduce lobbying pressure.
"The Constitution says that members of Congress, the House of Representatives specifically, have a right to decide how money is spent," Mr. Hastert told reporters.
Mr. Boehner said he received congratulatory phone calls Thursday from House Democratic leaders. His promotion raises the prospect of improved relations with the minority party, which has fought bitterly with Mr. DeLay and Mr. Hastert. Mr. Boehner has worked closely on education issues with Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and a close adviser to Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader.
"They have a job to do; we have a job to do," Mr. Boehner said of House Democrats. "But there are a lot of issues where there is no reason why we can't work together."
Democrats said they were hopeful of a thaw but noted that Mr. Boehner began his tenure by trying to link Democrats to the Abramoff corruption scandal, saying Friday that there have been "several members on both sides of the aisle that have been involved in problems."
That rubbed Democrats the wrong way. "It is a Republican scandal and no amount of spin can change that fact," said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Ms. Pelosi.
Mr. Blunt, who retained his whip position, attended the leadership meeting and said he was happy to have added help after serving as both whip and majority leader for the past few months. He acknowledged the challenge facing Mr. Boehner as he tried to steer the party through a difficult period.
"I probably slept better last night than the leader did," Mr. Blunt said.