Republicans on Wednesday nominated Rep. Steve Scalise next speaker of house of representatives Efforts will now be united to elect conservatives in a floor vote Recall Rep. Kevin McCarthy from work.
House Republicans sidelined Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan in favor of current Majority Leader Scalise in a closed vote at the Capitol, lawmakers said. The Louisiana congressman is considered a hero by some after surviving a mass shooting at a congressional baseball game practice in 2017. He is now battling blood cancer.
Republicans, deadlocked after McCarthy’s historic ouster last week, will seek to rally a narrow House majority around Scalise in what is sure to be a close vote in the full House. Democrats will oppose the Republican nominee.
A full House vote could come as early as Wednesday afternoon.
“I don’t know how the hell you get 218 votes,” said Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, referring to the majority needed to become speaker in the 435-member House. “It could be a long week.”
It’s an extraordinary moment of political chaos, with the House deadlocked amid domestic and international uncertainty. foreign crisisOnly 10 months after the Republicans came to power. The Republican majority aspires to operate as a team and run the government like a business, but with the unprecedented removal of the speaker, the Republican majority has fallen far short of that goal.
Americans are watching. A quarter of Republicans said they approved of the decision by a small group of Republicans to remove McCarthy from office.Three in 10 Republicans think it was a mistake According to a public opinion poll From The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
this far-right coalition of legislators The recall of McCarthy, a California Republican, shows how important a handful of lawmakers can be in choosing his successor.
“I’m not happy with either option right now,” said Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colorado, who voted to oust McCarthy.
It’s unclear whether Scalise will be able to muster nearly all the Republican votes needed to overcome Democratic opposition. Normally, the required majority is 218 votes, but there are currently two vacant seats, lowering the threshold to 217 votes.
Many Republicans want to avoid chaotic scenes on the House floor, like the grueling brawl that took place in January when McCarthy was sworn in as speaker.
“People are not willing to speak as a simple majority and then have C-SPAN and the rest of the world watch our fight,” said Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla. “We want this fight to be a family fight. Behind closed doors.”
Some have proposed changing the rules, and Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, RN, is considering changing the rules to ensure a majority vote before a nominee goes to a floor vote.
McCarthy himself seemed to agree with the consensus approach. “They shouldn’t get out of there unless they decide they have enough votes for whoever they bring in,” McCarthy said.
But without a rule change, Republican lawmakers are expected to agree to a majority-win process.
Neither Scalise nor Jordan are seen as the heir apparent to McCarthy, who was ousted from office amid a push from the far right after McCarthy led Congress in approving legislation to avert a government shutdown.
Jordan is known for his finishing ability Ally with Donald Trump, especially as the then-President was working to overturn the results of the 2020 election, leading to the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump endorsed Jordan for the gavel.
Scalise and Jordan expressed similar sentiments at a Republican candidate forum on Tuesday that cutting spending and securing the southern border with Mexico are top priorities for the Republican Party.
Several lawmakers, including Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who pushed for McCarthy’s ouster, have said they would be willing to support Scalise or Jordan.
For now, McHenry is effectively in charge. He has shown no interest in expanding his powers beyond his assigned role as an interim leader responsible for ensuring the election of the next speaker.
The position was created in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to ensure continuity of government. McHenry’s name was at the top of the list McCarthy submitted when he became speaker in January.
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Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.
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