House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s bid to become speaker was in doubt Thursday night, and a handful of opponents remain unconvinced he is the best choice to lead the Republican conference.
Republican lawmakers debated behind closed doors for more than three hours at the Capitol, but made almost no progress in uniting behind a pickaxe to wield the gavel.
Scalise (R-La.) was elected the Republican nominee for House speaker by a narrow 113-99 margin during a Wednesday conference meeting, beating Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who later endorsed his former rival for the position.
But dozens of members have said they will remain loyal to Jordan or Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who on Oct. 3 became the first House speaker in history to be impeached after eight Republicans joined all Democrats to expel him. .
While Jordan allies like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) cited his record of delivering on conservative priorities like cutting spending, McCarthy supporters like Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.) expressed more concern about behaving as a governable majority.
“It’s not an easy task,” McCarthy told reporters Thursday when asked about Scalise’s path forward.
House Republicans failed to unite around Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), raising uncertainty about his presidential bid on Thursday.ZUMAPRESS.com
“He told many people that he was going to be at 150 [conference votes] and he wasn’t there.”
When asked if Scalise could get enough support to be president, McCarthy responded: “It’s possible; But it is a big hill.”
The House currently has 221 Republican members and 212 Democrats, plus two vacancies, for a total of 433.
If all members are present and vote for someone by name, Scalise must obtain at least 217 votes in order to become president, although any “present” or absent vote would lower his victory threshold.
At the end of Thursday’s conference meeting, members were divided between those who wanted to force a House vote and those who wanted to continue private deliberations.
“Let’s do the complicated work of governing and selecting leaders in front of the people,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the campaign to oust McCarthy from leadership. published in Xformerly Twitter.
Rep. George Santos (R-NY) left Thursday’s meeting in the first hour, complaining that it was a “waste of time” and saying he would not support a Scalise presidency.
“We elected and removed McCarthy with complete transparency. Let’s replace it the same way,” she said.
“Kevin McCarthy had to last 15 rounds. The next speaker should be able to do the same,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told reporters as she addressed the meeting.
However, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) criticized the eight Republican “traitors” who voted to remove McCarthy from the presidency and “crippled” the Republican conference, saying “there are eight others like them” ready to derail to Scalise or whoever leads next.
He stressed that Democratic votes would be necessary for any presidential candidate, but lamented that members of his caucus “have offered nothing.”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) backs Jordan’s bid for the gavel. fake images
Other members such as Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) were equivocal.
“The high-stakes drama they’re trying to spread is, ‘Oh my God, world events are happening, so pick any pilot for the plane,’” Roy chided.
“You guys want to board a plane and just grab the guy in row 11 and say, ‘Saddle up; you are in the seat. “That is not a good model.”
Scalise emerged from the meeting stating that his “support continues to grow,” although more meetings were scheduled before any action was taken in the House.
The entire Republican conference will return tonight for a final meeting before scheduling a vote in the House.ZUMAPRESS.com
That move could also lead to Scalise losing support if the vote drags on, as Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) said they had only promised your support. to the majority leader on the first vote.
House Republican leaders confiscated members’ cellphones to maintain some privacy, but that didn’t stop members from talking to the press when they went to the bathroom or left abruptly to conduct other business.
Rep. George Santos (R-NY) left Thursday’s meeting before even an hour had passed, complaining that it was a “waste of time” and saying he would not support a Scalise presidency.
“It’s a bad episode of ‘Veep’ turning into ‘House of Cards,’” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) also said sarcastically.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, who supports Jordan, also said the Republican Party should publicly debate its choice for president.
According to Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who endorsed Scalise on Thursday after initially endorsing Jordan, an anonymous GOP member joked, “I don’t think the Lord Jesus himself can get 217 votes.”
“There is no consensus candidate for president,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) posted on X after leaving the session early.
“We need to stay in Washington until we resolve this. I will no longer vote for Scalise. [sic]. “I don’t even think we’ll make it to the ground.”
Former President Donald Trump also eroded some of Scalise’s support base from afar with an appearance on Fox News Radio after he endorsed Jordan to replace McCarthy.
“Well, I like Steve. I really like both. But the problem is that Steve is a man who is in serious trouble from a cancer standpoint,” Trump told Brian Kilmeade.
According to Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who endorsed Scalise on Thursday after initially endorsing Jordan, an anonymous GOP member joked, “I don’t think the Lord Jesus himself can get 217 votes.”
“And this is tremendous stress.”
“I like Jim. I think Jim is great. I like both, by the way. But I think Jim is a great, tremendous fighter, a tough guy,” Trump added.
“But I will certainly be with anyone who, you know, I get along with. Frankly, I get along with all of them. But, I mean, the only thing that Steve has is that he has to get better, he has to get better, he has to get stronger.”
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