House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has withdrawn from the speaker’s race, following the failure of House Republicans to rally behind him after Kevin McCarthy’s historic removal from the position.
“I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for the speaker designee,” the Louisiana Republican told reporters.
The swift decline of Scalise’s bid for the speakership occurred just a day after he secured 113 votes in his favor against Rep. Jim Jordan’s 99.
However, the withdrawal was expected, given that the GOPs swiftly opposed his candidacy.
House Republicans are now in the challenging position of seeking a way forward as the House remains without a speaker. Some have even suggested expanding the powers of the interim speaker to address the chaos.
Although many GOP lawmakers are urging the conference to support Jim Jordan for speaker, there is no unified consensus behind the Ohio Republican, and opposition is expected to grow.
🚨 #BREAKING: Steve Scalise will NOT be able to secure the 217 votes necessary to become Speaker, and is expected to WITHDRAW from the race today@RepThomasMassie (R-KY) says at least 20 Republicans will not be voting for Scalise
Jim Jordan is expected to jump back into the… pic.twitter.com/f9lBYaWFoZ— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 12, 2023
Several Republicans have expressed their reservations about Jordan’s candidacy. Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri stated that Jordan is a non-starter for her, and Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia openly voiced his refusal to support Jordan. Rep.
Don Bacon of Nebraska expressed concerns about “rewarding bad behavior” after Jordan’s supporters helped thwart Scalise’s bid.
“I think there’s enough people that would see what has happened and transpired over the last 40 hours to not support him that we’re going to have the same problem with Jordan that we had with Scalise,” California Rep. Mike Garcia of California, stated. “I think it’s a math problem, frankly.”
For any candidate, including Jordan, to become speaker, they need to secure a majority of the entire House, which amounts to 217 votes due to two vacancies. This means that a GOP nominee can only lose four Republican votes if there are no absences, as Democrats are expected to uniformly support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
House Republicans are scheduled to convene another closed-door meeting to discuss their path forward.
Jim Jordan has not confirmed whether he will launch a bid for the speakership, stating that any announcements about his intentions will be made at a later time.
Scalise had attempted to salvage his bid earlier by addressing the concerns of his critics during a lengthy conference meeting, but this effort did not gain the necessary support and faced increasing opposition.
Scalise’s withdrawal means he will continue to serve as the House majority leader, the second-ranking Republican in the House.
Kevin McCarthy, who acknowledged the challenges Scalise faced, emphasized that the GOP conference needs to address and resolve its leadership issues.
“I just think the conference as a whole has to figure out their problem, solve it and select their leader,” McCarthy said.
