Steve Scalise becomes the Republican nominee for speaker, beating Trump ally Jim Jordan 113-99 in the race to replace Kevin McCarthy
The No. 2 Republican in the House, Steve Scalise, won the GOP nomination for speaker, although he still faces opposition within the party and it is not clear when he might have the votes to take the House post to win.
Republicans held a secret, closed-door vote Wednesday morning after days of drama and infighting.
Scalise, the majority leader who is battling blood cancer, defeated House Judiciary Chairman and Trump ally Jim Jordan by a vote of 113-99.
To make Scalise’s promotion official, he must receive at least 217 votes in the House of Representatives – which allows only a small handful of Republican defections.
Reps. Max Miller and Lauren Boebert said they — among others — still plan to vote for Jordan locally, which could drag out the process.
A source familiar with Jordan’s plans said he would drop out of the race and urged his supporters to vote for Scalise.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida has pledged to continue supporting Kevin McCarthy — even though he’s not on the ballot.
Last week, eight Republicans voted with Democrats to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy, leaving a power vacuum on Capitol Hill. Days later, Representatives Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise threw their hats into the ring for the top leadership position.
Scalise appears to have found more favor with establishment Republicans as a current member of the GOP leadership team, while Jordan is popular with the conference’s right wing
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the firebrand Florida congressman who led the vote to remove McCarthy, said Wednesday that he would vote for Scalise, calling him an “improvement” on McCarthy.
He called Jordan and Scalise “two respected and trustworthy men.”
Scalise, as a current member of the GOP leadership team, appeared to have more appeal among establishment Republicans, while Jordan remained popular with the conference’s right wing.
The secret vote on the speaker candidate came after Republicans voted to reject a plan to increase the number of votes needed to select a speaker candidate to 217.
Scalise only needed a majority to secure the nomination before the floor vote.
Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., is running to replace Scalise as majority leader. He said there could be a vote on the speaker as early as 3 p.m. today.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the firebrand Florida congressman who led the vote to remove McCarthy, said Wednesday that he would vote for Scalise, calling him an “upgrade” from McCarthy
Tensions between McCarthy and Scalise are an open secret in Washington.
They first boiled over publicly when conservatives were angry about the agreement between McCarthy and Joe Biden on the debt ceiling.
Instead of including Scalise in the debt ceiling negotiations, McCarthy relied on his close friends, Rep. Garrett Graves (R-La.) and Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), to negotiate with the White House.
Both Scalise and Jordan acknowledged that they would need to submit a continuing resolution (CR) – a bill to increase government funding to fiscal year 2023 levels and avert a government shutdown while they develop a longer-term spending plan.