House GOP Remains Divided After Speaker Nomination

Jim Jordan retains support despite losing GOP vote to Steve Scalise
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 12, 2023 7:23 AM CDT
House GOP Remains Divided After Speaker Nomination
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, talks with reporters following a conference in his office after losing the Republican nomination for speaker to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"The House GOP's hoped-for moment of unity never materialized" Wednesday as Republicans picked Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana for speaker only to find at least a dozen of their members opposed, per Politico. Scalise nabbed just 50.7% of the House GOP conference's support, illustrating a clear division among Republicans. Reps. Thomas Massie, Max Miller, Lloyd Smucker, Carlos Gimenez, Chip Roy, Nancy Mace, and others have said Scalise won't get their vote. Some members continue to support Scalise's challenger, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, even though he's reportedly vowed to support Scalise. Given the Republicans' slim majority, Scalise can only afford to lose four GOP votes. Democrats plan to vote for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Initially, Scalise thought he'd have the job wrapped up by Wednesday night. He and his allies told supporters they believed he would prevail in a full House vote by that time, per Politico. But "I just don't think Steve's got the votes," Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama told reporters on Wednesday afternoon. Moore voted for Scalise but later announced he would support Jordan. Some Jordan supporters—Reps. Miller, Smucker, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert among them, per Axios—believe that by voting against Scalise, they can provide another pathway for Jordan to emerge as speaker. Massie told reporters that more than 20 Republicans are prepared to oppose Scalise, a shooting survivor who's battling blood cancer.

They cite "the lack of a plan to fund the government, no plan to change how Washington works, anger that [former House Speaker Kevin] McCarthy lost the job, and opposition to giving the next person in line a promotion," per the Washington Post. They also cite Scalise's opposition to a proposed rule change that would've forced Republicans to vote behind closed doors until a nominee for speaker earned 217 votes. Allies of McCarthy, who's long feuded with Scalise, even suggested voting for him Wednesday, per the Post. But McCarthy urged members to support Jordan, per the New York Times. "It all amounts to a sense that the House GOP conference is free-falling into a longer limbo" even "as Washington clamors for action to address the conflict in Israel and a shutdown deadline looms," per Politico. (More speaker of the House stories.)

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