The search is on for a new House Speaker

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A look at the contenders for House speaker and the demands they’re facing from fellow Republicans

WASHINGTON (AP) — For Republicans, it’s a question with no clear answer: Who becomes House speaker after Kevin McCarthy?

https://apnews.com/article/scalise-jordan-hern-speaker-election-house-republicans-64fa61123be7a7af585233903256c0f9?

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Liz Cheney Says If Jim Jordan Becomes Speaker Then Republicans Cannot Be ‘Counted On To Defend The Constitution’

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) claimed that if her party decides to vote for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to replace Kevin McCarthy as House speaker then they cannot be relied on to “defend the constitution.”

https://local.newsbreak.com/ohio-state/3182822801974-liz-cheney-says-if-jim-jordan-becomes-speaker-then-republicans-cannot-be-counted-on-to-defend-the-constitution?

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FOX scraps joint interview with GOP candidates for U.S. House speaker

WASHINGTON — Fox News has scrapped a joint interview from Capitol Hill with candidates for speaker of the U.S. House after the participants dropped out, chief political anchor Bret Baier said Friday afternoon.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/10/06/fox-scraps-joint-interview-with-gop-candidates-for-u-s-house-speaker/?

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As Republicans split over who will be House speaker, McCarthy positions himself as a de facto leader

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have no clear idea who will be the next U.S. House speaker, leaving an unprecedented power vacuum in Congress and severely limiting America’s ability to quickly respond to the crisis in Israel — or any number of other problems at home and abroad.

https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-mccarthy-vacancy-scalise-jordan-israel-58c7df019c59e144b2a526c657cf6087?

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McCarthy may jump into U.S. House speaker race, as crises overseas mount

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans will gather behind closed doors beginning Monday night in an attempt to decide who should become the chamber’s next speaker, a race with a renewed sense of urgency with ally Israel now at war and the House in paralysis.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/10/09/mccarthy-may-jump-into-u-s-house-speaker-race-as-crises-overseas-mount/?

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⚡ GOP's paralysis 2.0

Some House Republicans fear the conference could be paralyzed by a new push to require 98% internal support for a speaker nominee before a formal vote is held on the House floor, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports.

Why it matters: Republicans are looking to avoid a sequel to January's torturous floor fight, when it took 15 ballots to elect former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

• Some GOP lawmakers are pushing to "temporarily raise the threshold" for a nominee to 217 votes — the number needed to be elected on the floor — instead of simply requiring majority support within the conference.
• There are two vacant House seats, bringing the number for an overall majority down from 218.

State of play: As of this evening's candidate forum, neither Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) nor Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are close to the 217 votes needed to win the speakership.

Keep reading

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Republicans nominate Steve Scalise to be House speaker but struggle to unite quickly and elect him

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans nominated Rep. Steve Scalise on Wednesday to be the next House speaker but struggled to quickly unite their deeply divided majority and elect the conservative in a public floor vote after the historic ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the job.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/10/11/republicans-nominate-steve-scalise-to-be-house-speaker-and-will-try-to-unite-before-a-floor-vote/?

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Scalise is the GOP’s pick to be the House speaker but he faces an uncertain path. What happens next?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that House Republicans have chosen Majority Leader Steve Scalise as their nominee for speaker, the race is on to secure the 217 votes he will need on the House floor to win the gavel and officially take the place of the ousted Kevin McCarthy.

https://apnews.com/article/speaker-scalise-mccarthy-election-explainer-18cf42a5d5d2e25cdb877722eb4cae02?

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GOP's speaker whack-a-mole

House Republicans inched one step closer to finding their next speaker today, nominating Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) in a closely contested vote behind closed doors.

Why it matters: Scalise's nomination may have placated Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and other hardliners who led the charge against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). But new holdouts — including some not-so-usual suspects — are suddenly complicating Scalise's path to the gavel.

Driving the news: By a secret-ballot vote of 113-99, Scalise defeated House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) — a former Freedom Caucus agitator who was backed by former President Trump.

• Jordan offered to give Scalise's nominating speech on the House floor in a bid for GOP unity, but there's no indication the move will prompt enough of Jordan's supporters to fall in line behind his erstwhile opponent.
• Republicans — including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Max Miller of Ohio, Troy Nehls of Texas, Mary Miller of Illinois and Lauren Boebert of Colorado — have already stated plans to vote for Jordan on the House floor.

What they're saying: "I like Steve Scalise, and I like him so much that I want to see him defeat cancer more than sacrifice his health in the most difficult position in Congress," Greene tweeted.

• "I personally cannot, in good conscience, vote for someone who attended a white supremacist conference and compared himself to David Duke," said Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy.

Context: Mace was referring to past racism controversies that have dogged Scalise's career, including his alleged remark to a reporter in the 1990s that he was like former KKK grand wizard David Duke "without the baggage."

Screenshot via X

The intrigue: Simmering tensions with allies of McCarthy — who said he supports Scalise despite a long-running feud with the Louisiana Republican — are also proving to be a wild card.

• Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.), for example, has said he has no plans to back Scalise.
• House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said he's undecided on Scalise, telling CNN: "He came out with 110 votes; he needs 217. He's going to have to give us a message or an understanding of how he's going to bridge that gap."
• Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), an arch conservative who became a surprise backer of McCarthy during the ex-speaker's ouster, estimated there are "at least" 20 Republicans who currently oppose Scalise.

The bottom line: In January, McCarthy won the GOP conference's nomination for speaker by a 188-31 margin. He then endured a grueling 15-ballot battle on the House floor — a cakewalk compared to what Scalise is facing.

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Nominated to be House speaker, Steve Scalise is left searching for Republican votes to win the gavel Having won the nomination to be the next House speaker, Rep. Steve Scalise is heading straight into a familiar Republican problem — skeptical GOP colleagues are reluctant to give their support, denying him the majority vote needed to win the gavel. Read more.

Why this matters: On Thursday, the House will open in anticipation of floor action to elect the speaker. But it’s requiring Scalise to peel off over 100 votes from his chief rival, Rep. Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman favored by hardliners as they fight to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy after his historic ouster from the job.   Jordan offered to give Scalise a nominating speech in a show of support during a vote. And Jordan himself plans to vote for Scalise, encouraging his colleagues to do the same, said a person familiar with the private talks and granted anonymity to discuss them.   Entering week two without a speaker, the House is essentially unable to function, and the pressure is on for Republicans to reverse course, reassert majority control and govern.

Related coverage ➤ Republican Steve Scalise is seen as a fighter, but becoming House speaker might require a brawl These 8 Republicans stood apart to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker

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?️ Inching toward a speaker

Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Above: Staffers transport documents from a closed-door Republican vote for speaker nomination at the Longworth House Office Building yesterday. ? House floor action to elect a speaker is expected today. Republicans inched closer to getting a speaker, nominating House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) in a closely contested vote behind closed doors. By a secret-ballot vote of 113-99, Scalise defeated House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Now Scalise needs 217 on the floor. Go deeper: "Scalise plays whack-a-mole with surprise speaker holdouts,"

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Scalise nominated by U.S. House GOP as speaker in closed-door meeting

WASHINGTON — Uncertainty and party infighting over the next U.S. House speaker prevailed at the Capitol Wednesday evening, despite a majority of Republicans picking Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise as their nominee behind closed doors earlier in the day.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/10/11/scalise-nominated-by-u-s-house-gop-as-speaker-in-closed-door-meeting/?

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No way out

"We are a broken conference," Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) declared today after leaving a closed-door, two-hour meeting in which House Republicans made no progress in their efforts to unite behind a new speaker.

Why it matters: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) may be the GOP's speaker nominee in name, but he actually appears to have lost support in the 24 hours since he defeated Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), 113-99, in an internal vote among Republicans.

• Former President Trump, who endorsed Jordan for speaker, told Fox News today he was concerned about Scalise's "very serious" cancer diagnosis and called on the majority leader to focus on his own health.
• After Trump's comments, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) revealed she is no longer supporting Scalise — and even called for him to step aside, given he does not appear to have a path to the 217 votes needed to be elected speaker on the House floor.

Between the lines: The power centers within the House GOP conference seem uninterested in saving Scalise's speaker bid.

• Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), whose allies are still smarting from his ouster, told reporters Scalise faces "a big hill": "He told a lot of people he was going to be at 150 [votes]. He wasn't there," McCarthy jabbed.
• Freedom Caucus chair Scott Perry (R-Pa.) told reporters he does not currently see a path for Scalise to win the gavel.
• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) echoed Trump's concerns about Scalise's health and called for Republicans to regroup next week.

Zoom in: A sampling of conversations from outside the GOP conference meeting shows just how despondent many Republicans have become about the state of their party.

• "I see a lot of threats out there. One of the biggest threats I see is in that room," House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told reporters.
• Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) came out of the room fuming at the eight "traitors" who "paralyzed" the House on Oct. 3 by voting to oust McCarthy, warning a GOP speaker candidate will never reach 217 votes without Democrats' help.
• "If you see smoke, it's not a speaker. Someone just set the place on fire," quipped Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas).
• "I don't think the Lord Jesus himself could get 217 votes," Nehls claimed one Republican told colleagues inside the closed-door meeting.

State of play: Scalise met with holdouts this afternoon, as rumors swirled about outreach to Democrats or temporarily empowering interim Speaker Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) to conduct important House business.

The bottom line: Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) circulated a letter calling on Republicans to lock themselves in the room during tonight's conference meeting until a consensus can be reached.

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GOP’s Scalise ends bid to become House speaker after failing to secure votes to win gavel

WASHINGTON — Republican Steve Scalise ended his bid to become House speaker late Thursday after hardline holdouts refused to back the party’s nominee, throwing the GOP majority into deeper chaos with the chamber unable to function.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/10/12/gops-scalise-ends-his-bid-to-become-house-speaker-after-failing-to-secure-the-votes-to-win-gavel/?

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GOP’s Scalise ends his bid to become House speaker Republican Steve Scalise ended his bid to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives late Thursday after hardline holdouts refused to back the party’s nominee, throwing the GOP majority into deeper chaos and leaving the chamber unable to function. Read more.

Why this matters: Republicans who withheld support from the House majority leader argued Scalise would not be a better choice for leader than ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy and said he should focus on his health as he battles cancer.   The next steps are uncertain as the House remains closed for business for a second week while pressure increases on the Republican majority to reassert control during a time of turmoil in the U.S. and wars overseas.

Related coverage ➤ Some want to grant temporary House speaker more power as Republican gridlock stalls Congress Republicans are divided on far-right move to remove McCarthy as House speaker, an AP-NORC poll shows

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?️ GOP's speakerquest enters desperation

A bipartisan group of roughly ten House lawmakers is quietly holding "very" serious discussions about a last-ditch bipartisan deal to elect a House speaker, a moderate Republican involved in the discussions tells Axios.

• Lawmakers in both parties are expressing growing openness to a bipartisan deal for speaker, with Republicans continuing to flop at doing it alone, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.

Why it matters: After House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) withdrew last night despite winning his party's nomination, some Republicans fear nobody can win the job with just GOP votes.

• Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), a member of Democratic leadership who represents a swing district, told Axios: "There's a sentiment building around [a bipartisan deal] among Democrats and Republicans."
• Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.), a member of the moderate Republican Governance Group, said: "Bipartisanship is not a sin."

? Reality check: Party relations are still raw after Democrats voted uniformly to remove McCarthy.

State of play: With Scalise out, all eyes now turn to Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a co-founder of the right-wing Freedom Caucus.

• But some of Jordan's GOP colleagues are already predicting he'll suffer the same fate as Scalise. "I think he's gonna have a math problem as well," said Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.).

? The intrigue: Jordan offered to nominate Scalise for speaker on the House floor on the first ballot — on the condition that Scalise return the favor if he failed to win after the first round, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports.

• After Scalise announced he was withdrawing from the race and remaining majority leader, Jordan was making calls to gin up support.

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There’s still no speaker of the U.S. House. Could Patrick McHenry be the solution?

WASHINGTON — Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise stepped into a closed-door meeting at the U.S. Capitol Thursday to negotiate with more than a dozen holdout Republicans in his quest to become the next speaker of the House, although dissent only seemed to grow following the three-hour session.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/10/12/theres-still-no-speaker-of-the-u-s-house-could-patrick-mchenry-be-the-solution/?

[Theophilus]

Didn't they nominate Jordan for speaker or was that just a bad dream?

I though he was the new choice.

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8 minutes ago, Theophilus said:

Didn't they nominate Jordan for speaker or was that just a bad dream?

I though he was the new choice.

Far as I know they have not, but who knows??

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Well I guess it wasn't a bad dream after all!!

Republicans pick Jim Jordan as nominee for House speaker, putting job within the Trump ally’s reach

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans chose firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan as their new nominee for House speaker during internal voting Friday, putting the gavel within reach of the staunch ally of GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump.

https://apnews.com/article/house-republicans-scalise-jordan-mccarthy-trump-ced017e71de967a7e327cba7e502926a?

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McHenry momentum builds

Democrats are beginning to seriously entertain the notion of helping enable Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) to pass critical legislation, a potential short-term fix as GOP infighting continues to paralyze the House, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.

Why it matters: The House is nearing two weeks without a permanent speaker and faces a Nov. 17 deadline to pass federal funding before the government shuts down.

• Republicans have struggled to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), with Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) dropping out last week after failing to persuade more than two dozen holdouts.
• The House GOP on Friday voted to nominate Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), but a subsequent vote showed that 55 Republicans won't support him on the floor — more than enough to sink him.

The big picture: The desire to legislate goes well beyond government funding, with lawmakers desperate to address the escalating Israel-Hamas war, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and record high U.S.-Mexico border crossings.

Driving the news: Four moderate Democrats led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, sent a letter to McHenry on Friday proposing a vote to "expand the Speaker Pro Tempore's authorities."

• In exchange for empowering McHenry for 15-day increments, they wrote, he would guarantee votes on government funding bills and aid packages for Ukraine and Israel.
• The Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 10 centrist Democrats, quickly endorsed the measure.

Zoom in: Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), a member of Democratic leadership, said there would need to be "some limitations" on what Congress could do under this arrangement — specifically not allowing Republicans to pursue party-line GOP legislation.

• "Democrats are not interested in just rescuing the Republicans from their own problems and have them go right back to business as usual as it was under McCarthy," he said.

What we're hearing: A senior House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there has been "back and forth between members" about the idea, but nothing that "equates to negotiation at the leadership level, because it's a little confusing with whom we would negotiate."

• "A couple different scenarios" have been discussed by Democrats as to how to keep McHenry in check, the lawmaker said — such as only allowing bills to pass with a two-thirds majority, thus guaranteeing that widely supported measures are the ones brought to the floor.
• But there are potential snags: more contentious issues like border security would be tough, and Republicans may revolt in a scenario in which Democrats are providing the bulk of the votes to pass measures.
• "It's really easy to say it in concept, it's a lot harder to deliver in reality," the Democrat said. "It's just whether they're willing to sell their hardliners down the river."

McHenry himself has adopted the most limited interpretation of his role — that he's simply meant to oversee the election of a new speaker.

• "It's a ministerial role, he was pretty clear he's not comfortable with" expanded powers, said Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.).

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Anti-Jordan vote collapses

Key House Republicans adamantly opposed to electing Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as speaker have suddenly laid down their arms, clearing the way for a vote tomorrow that could hand the gavel to one of the most polarizing lawmakers in Congress.

Why it matters: The bulk of Jordan's math problem effectively melted away overnight. The result may be a short-term end to the GOP chaos that has paralyzed Congress for the last two weeks — and the improbable empowerment of one of former President Trump's fiercest defenders.

Driving the news: Jordan won a huge endorsement this morning from House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), who had told reporters on Friday there was nothing Jordan could do to win his support.

• That was followed by another surprise endorsement from Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), an ally to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who said Friday she could "absolutely not" back Jordan — calling him "disgraceful."
• Jordan also earned the backing of Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) — a quick succession of reversals that suggested Jordan could have enough momentum to win on the House floor.

Yes, but: These were the most public of "no" votes. Dozens of Republicans have not yet weighed in.

• Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Carlos A. Giménez (R-Fla.), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Ken Buck (R-Colo.) all indicated today they still oppose Jordan.

How we got here: After Jordan's nomination in an internal GOP conference vote on Friday, 55 Republicans indicated they would not support the conservative firebrand on the House floor.

• Jordan spent the next few days working the phones and meeting with his critics, while conservative allies outside Congress mounted an aggressive pressure campaign against the holdouts.
• Jordan is extremely popular with the MAGA base, which comprises the bloc of Republican voters most likely to dictate whether GOP members of Congress can survive primary challenges.

Zoom in: Sean Hannity's Fox News show sent emails to potential defectors grilling them on their opposition to Jordan, a strong-arming tactic that irked some lawmakers — but which may have ultimately proved effective.

• The threat of Democrats working with exasperated Republican centrists to elect their own speaker also likely spooked some GOP holdouts into dropping their opposition to Jordan.

The intrigue: Four House Republicans walked away from conversations with Jordan under the impression he will allow a floor vote on linking Ukraine funding with Israel funding if he becomes speaker, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke scooped.

• A Jordan spokesperson denied that he made any promises, but the discussions appear to have been enough to sway some national security hawks previously critical of his Ukraine stance.

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Jordan builds momentum to Speakership but still faces opposition: Live coverage

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is gaining momentum as he tries to lock down support for the Speakership, but opposition remains.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4258213-house-speaker-jim-jordan-votes-live-coverage/?

Jordan to face a challenger in floor vote Tuesday

A faction of Republicans that strongly opposes Jim Jordan is vowing he'll have a challenger during the House floor speakership vote on Tuesday, according to two House Republicans familiar with the planning.

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2023/10/15/congress/jordan-gets-a-challenger-00121640

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?️ Jordan on brink of gavel

After 14 days with no House speaker, Republicans are the closest they've been to filling the chair — but aren't there yet.

• House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), 59, co-founder of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, hopes he'll be elected speaker this afternoon.
• But even if he wins, it could take multiple ballots — I'm hearing three might be the charm.

? Behind the scenes: There's been a massive push to get House Republicans to unify around Jordan — calls to member offices, conservative TV hosts ramping up the pressure on skeptics, and MAGA influencers taking aim at hesitant members on social media, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports.

• Scoop: GOP lawmakers told Axios that Jordan suggested he'd be willing to link votes on aid to Israel and Ukraine. Jordan's team says he made no specific promises.

Jordan was endorsed for speaker by President Trump and Fox News' Sean Hannity.

• Jordan bio ...

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Do GOP ‘Moderates’ Have the Stomach to Block Jim Jordan?

Jim Jordan is on the brink of winning the speakership—if he can just flip a few more votes. That he’s even this close is a testament to the House GOP’s far-right transformation.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/do-gop-moderates-have-the-stomach-to-block-jim-jordan?

Jim Jordan gains support as vote nears for U.S. House speaker, but outcome still in doubt

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan swayed several Republican opponents to his side Monday, moving the Ohio Republican closer to the speaker’s gavel ahead of a crucial Tuesday afternoon vote.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/10/17/jim-jordan-gains-support-as-vote-nears-for-u-s-house-speaker-but-outcome-still-in-doubt/?