Steve Scalise Wins GOP Nomination Vote For House Speaker
11.10.2023 - 19:13
/ deadline.com
UPDATE: The House speaker vote will not take place today, CNN reported, an indication that the nominee for the job, Steve Scalise, does not have the votes.
He reportedly was given a boost by his rival, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who plans to back him.
But the GOP has such a slim majority in the House — 221-212 — that Scalise can only lose four GOP votes. Democrats are expected to remain united behind their choice for speaker, Hakeem Jeffries.
PREVIOUSLY: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) won the Republican nomination to serve as the next speaker of the House, setting up a vote, potentially later today, on the floor.
Scalise now needs to get 217 votes of the full House to become speaker, a far from certain prospect given the Republicans narrow majority and Democrats’ plans to nominate and unite behind their party leader, Hakeem Jeffries. In a behind-closed-doors meeting of the GOP caucus, Scalise defeated Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). The vote was 113-99.
Republicans want to prevent an extended floor fight, which is what happened in January, when Kevin McCarthy went 15 rounds before he was elected speaker late on a Friday evening. But McCarthy had to make concessions to hard-right Republicans, including one that made it easier for just one member to call for a vote to remove him. That is what happened last week, when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) led a successful effort to oust McCarthy.
Republicans gathered in private in a House office building, with reporters staked out to capture lawmakers as they exited. CNN’s Manu Raju corralled a few members as they left, and got a mixture of reactions.
Scalise was diagnosed with multiple myeloma earlier this year and has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments. In 2017, he was