With the recent ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Republicans have been scrambling trying to find a replacement. Not long ago, Rep. Steve Scalise appeared to won favor over the majority of Republican members and was expected to assume the position as speaker.
However, now the latest reports paint an entirely different picture.
The race for Speaker of the House is heating up as rumors suggest that Representative Steve Scalise may soon drop out. This comes after a slim 113-99 closed-door victory in a vote to nominate Scalise as the GOP candidate.
Now, party insiders are turning their attention to other potential candidates and looking ahead to what this means for the future of Republican leadership.
BREAKING: Newsmax reports that Rep. Steve Scalise will likely not be able to secure 217 votes and is expected to drop out of the race for Speaker of the House. pic.twitter.com/8nTDfER2Zq
— ALX ???? (@alx) October 12, 2023
House Republicans held a closed vote on Wednesday, October 11, to select a new nominee for Speaker of the House. This internal vote was triggered by Rep. Matt Gaetz’s Motion to Vacate the Chair which removed Kevin McCarthy from his position as speaker.
The resulting close result with Scalise winning by just 14 votes suggests that many representatives remain undecided on who should fill this role moving forward.
With Scalise’s reported withdrawal, eyes have turned against to Rep. Jim Jordan, a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus and a stalwart defender of conservative principles. Seven Republicans have publicly stated they will vote for him on the floor if he does become an official candidate, making him one of two current frontrunners along with Rep Tom Emmer and Rep Kevin Hern who both bring unique perspectives to this race.
As representatives consider their options and decide who should take up this important role moving forward it’s clear that there is no clear consensus yet among Republicans about who should be their next leader and what values they want represented in their party going forward.
