House Republicans chose Majority Leader Steve Scalise as their choice to be speaker of the House — but an expected floor vote was delayed Wednesday afternoon after at least seven lawmakers confirmed they would not give their support on the first ballot.
Scalise (R-La.) edged out House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) 113-99 in a closed-door vote, a vote that revealed a still raw feeling in the GOP conference following last week’s ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif. .).
Although Jordan agreed to support Scalise when it came time to choose a new speaker, six members – Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia; Lauren Boebert of Colorado; Thomas Massie of Kentucky; and Chip Roy, Troy Nehls and Michael Cloud of Texas – have publicly stated they will vote for Jordan.
In addition, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) has said he will support McCarthy.
House Republicans chose Majority Leader Steve Scalise to be speaker of the House ahead of a floor vote expected this afternoon.AP
The House currently has 221 Republican members and 212 Democratic members. If all members show up and vote for someone by name instead of declaring themselves “present,” Scalise must receive at least 217 votes to win the gavel — meaning he can only afford four GOP defections.
“We need to make sure we send a message to people around the world that the House is open and running the business of the people,” Scalise told reporters after the vote.
Asked before the conference meeting about his intentions, the majority leader stressed the importance of restoring order in the lower house in support of America’s allies, especially Israel as it is embroiled in a war with Hamas terrorists.
McCarthy has previously indicated she is open to resuming the speakership if the conference is united in her support. Annabelle Gordon – CNP / MEGA
“The first order of business under Speaker Steve Scalise is to bring a strong resolution expressing support for Israel,” he said. “We have a very bipartisan bill — the McCaul-Meeks resolution — ready to go. We need to get back to work. Today we’re going to do it.”
But more conservative caucus members were unhappy with the decision.
“There was a vote,” said an annoyed Roy as he left the meeting room, “and someone won.”
Scalise (R-La.) defeated House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) 113-99.AP
“Many members included [Ohio GOP Rep.] Max Miller and Lauren Boebert said they would vote for Jordan on the floor when they left the conference room,” a Republican aide told The Post.
“Surprises are for little kids at birthday parties, not Congress,” Massie posted on X, formerly Twitter. “So I told Scalise privately that he does not have my vote on the floor, because he has not articulated a viable plan to avoid the omnibus [spending bill].”
Greene cited Scalise’s ongoing battle with blood cancer in announcing he would vote for Jordan, at least on the first ballot.
“I like Steve Scalise, and I like him so much that I want to see him beat cancer more than sacrifice his health in the most difficult position in Congress,” he wrote on X.
Nehls puts the dilemma facing House Republicans in simple arithmetic.
“Steve Scalise got 113 votes – that’s a majority – but how do you convince another hundred and something?” he asked reporters.
Scalise received warm approval following votes from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the charge to oust McCarthy as speaker.
“Long live Speaker Scalise,” Gaetz said, standing next to Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who also voted for McCarthy’s removal.
Three other Republican conference members participating in the conference vote — Reps. Jenniffer González Colón of Puerto Rico, James Moylan of Guam and Amata Radewagen of American Samoa — will not be able to cast a ballot for the floor vote, further complicating Scalise’s path to victory.
Before electing Scalise, Republicans defeated a proposed rule change that would have raised the threshold for becoming the party’s speaker nominee to 217, an outright majority of all current members of Congress.
The House cannot conduct any other business until it elects a speaker, prompting a fresh vote not only in the wake of last Saturday’s Hamas terror attack on Israel, but the looming Nov. 17 deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown.
At the time of his removal, McCarthy was moving a stopgap spending bill through the House with Democratic support to avoid a shutdown at the end of September. That angered conservative members of the House who want the chamber to follow the traditional route of dividing government appropriations in 12 separate funding bills.
Meanwhile, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), who is considering a late bid for speaker, announced Wednesday he will run for House Majority Leader, setting up a possible three-way battle with Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik of New York.
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