POLITICS
House Republicans Pick Steve Scalise To Be Next Speaker, Pending Floor Vote
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House Republicans on Wednesday nominated Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana to be the next House speaker, paving the way for a floor vote with the full chamber.
Scalise was selected in a closed-door meeting among Republicans, who voted for him 113–99 over Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the leaders of the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
In order to secure the speakership, Scalise will need a majority of the full House, currently 217 votes.
First I want to thank my House Republican colleagues for designating me as the speaker. Obviously we still have work to do. Were going to have to go upstairs on the House floor and resolve this and then get the House open again,” Scalise said after the vote.
House Republicans were already under pressure to elect a new speaker before a temporary budget extension expires on Nov. 17, threatening a government shutdown, but that pressure intensified over the weekend when fighting broke out in the Middle East. Without a speaker, the House cannot pass any legislation, including international aid.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted by just a handful of conservative Republicans after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) filed a motion to vacate the chair, forcing a historic vote on whether to keep McCarthy, which he lost 216–210. He was the first House speaker in U.S. history to be removed by a floor vote.
McCarthy had struggled to unite House Republicans behind a budget deal to avoid a government shutdown, as the more conservative flank led by Gaetz pushed for deep domestic spending cuts and objected to sending more aid to Ukraine.
In a letter to colleagues announcing his candidacy, Scalise pointed to his proven track record of bringing together a diverse array of viewpoints within our Conference to build consensus where others thought it impossible.
Scalise was famously shot in 2017 during softball practice with other Republican lawmakers in northern Virginia. He was hospitalized for nearly four months.
North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, temporarily serving as interim speaker, said said the entire House would convene at 3 p.m., but an immediate vote was not expected.
TMX contributed to this article.
