Rep. Scalise Takes Name Out Of House Speaker's Race
By Jason Hall
October 13, 2023
Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) announced his decision to withdraw his bid to become House speaker just one day after being selected as House Republicans' nomination for the position, NBC News reports.
Scalise had informed Republicans of his decision in a closed-door meeting Thursday (October 12) night before announcing it to reporters minutes later.
“I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as candidate for the speaker designee,” Scalise said, adding that he intended to stay on as majority leader, via NBC News.
"Our conference still has to come together and is not there. There are still some people that have their own agendas," Scalise added. "This House of Representatives needs a speaker, and we need to open up the House again. But clearly, not everybody is there. And there’re still schisms that have to get resolved."
Scalise was selected over Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) by a 113 to 99 margin on Wednesday (October 11), but would have needed a majority 217 votes to be elected as the new House speaker. Jordan was endorsed for the position by former President Donald Trump after the congressman gained notoriety as a fierce supporter during his presidency.
The House will remain effectively paralyzed until a new House speaker is chosen. House Republicans abruptly ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last week.
McCarthy said he had no intention to run again for the post, though allies could still nominate him during a closed-door meeting, which he advised them not to do. The ongoing search for McCarthy's successor is taking place amid urgency brought on by allied Israel's war against Hamas, as well as a limited amount of time for lawmakers to try to avert a government shutdown with the funding deadline set for mid-November.
Republicans had previously rejected a proposal to raise the threshold required to select the new GOP speaker nominee in an effort to avoid another extended voting period, as was the case prior to McCarthy being selected earlier this year.