UPDATED 7:43 P.M.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday nominated Steve Scalise to serve as speaker following last week’s ouster of Kevin McCarthy, but delayed further action when he appeared to be short of the support needed to win a vote of the full chamber.
Scalise, now No. 2 on the Republican leadership ladder, edged rival Jim Jordan in a secret ballot vote to secure his party’s nomination for the top post.
Lawmakers had been told to expect a 3 p.m. ET vote, but that hour came and went with no action after several of Jordan’s backers said they would not support Scalise in a vote on the House floor.
Republicans can afford only a handful of defections as they control the chamber by a narrow 221-212 majority and Democrats are not expected to vote for any Republican candidate.
“We’re working hard to get unified. We need to get unified because the world is not waiting,” Scalise, 58, told reporters. “Obviously we still have work to do.”
Acting Speaker Patrick McHenry told reporters a vote “could be as early as today.”
“It’s not over yet. That was the inside race. Now the outside race starts,” said Representative Thomas Massie, who had voted for Jordan. Massie and said he expected to meet privately with Scalise ahead of a floor vote.
The tally was 113 for Scalise and 99 for Jordan, lawmakers said.
Jordan plans to vote for Scalise on the floor and is encouraging his colleagues to do the same, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
McCarthy in January had to endure 15 rounds of voting before clinching the speakership.
Before selecting Scalise, Republicans rejected a proposal that would have required their nominee to secure 217 of their 221 votes. That allowed Scalise to win the nomination quickly, but left open the question of whether he would face a repeat of the battle in January for the role of speaker, which played out over four days.
Republican Representative Kat Cammack predicted the floor vote would be a “bloodbath … a continuation of the chaos that has plagued the House.”
Republicans say they need to quickly resolve a leadership vacuum that has prevented the House from addressing the war in Israel, approving more aid to Ukraine and passing spending bills before current government funding runs out on Nov. 17.
Scalise said his first action as speaker would be to schedule a vote on a resolution making clear that the United States stands with Israel in its war with Hamas militants in Gaza.
It took only eight Republicans to oust McCarthy last week, a fact that could make leading the caucus a challenge for any new speaker.
While McCarthy was the first speaker in U.S. history to be removed in a formal vote, the last two Republicans to hold the job wound up leaving under pressure from party hardliners.
Americans have little confidence in Congress’ ability to overcome its partisan differences – and the Republican infighting that led to McCarthy’s ouster on Oct. 3. Some 64% of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll last week said they did not believe Washington politicians could put aside partisan disagreements for the good of the nation.
(Reporting by David Morgan, Moira Warburton, Makini Brice and Richard Cowan, writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Deepa Babington, Howard Goller and Grant McCool)
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives nominated Steve Scalise to be the chamber’s next speaker on Wednesday, a challenging role after hard-right members of his party cut short the tenure of the last three holders of the position.
But the New Orleans-born lawmaker has faced adversity before — including a 2017 shooting when he was badly wounded by a gunman angry about then-President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers.
Scalise, 58, prevailed on Wednesday in a closed-door party vote. Getting the role, which is second in line to the presidency after the vice president, will require winning the support of a majority of the House, which Republicans control by a 221-212 majority.
Hardline Republicans made predecessor Kevin McCarthy the first speaker to be ousted in a historic Oct. 3 vote. McCarthy was the third consecutive Republican speaker to leave the top post due to pressure from his hard-right flank.
Scalise, who is being treated for a form of blood cancer, garnered support from most members of the Republican caucus, and he has pledged to unite the caucus.
“I have a proven track record of bringing together the diverse array of viewpoints within our Conference to build consensus where others thought it impossible,” he wrote in a letter to his colleagues announcing his run for speaker.
In that letter, Scalise blasted the administration of President Joe Biden over inflation, the national debt and policies on energy, crime and immigration.
Scalise was first elected to Congress in 2008 to represent a district on Louisiana’s coast, and he worked on bipartisan legislation to dedicate fines from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to coastal restoration in the state.
In 2014, Scalise was elected to become the Republican whip. He played a key role in the passage of a tax overhaul plan and a trade agreement with Canada and Mexico under Trump’s administration. He was elected majority leader in 2022.
NEAR-BRUSH WITH DEATH
Scalise was nearly killed in 2017 when a gunman angry about Trump attacked a group of Republican lawmakers practicing for the annual congressional charity baseball game. He returned to a standing ovation on the House floor.
The experience did not diminish Scalise’s support for gun rights, and he said in an October 2017 interview with Fox News Channel that the shooting “fortified” his feelings about them.
While Scalise is broadly well-liked in the caucus and is a formidable fundraiser, U.S. media have reported that Scalise and McCarthy have had a tepid relationship for years. An aide to Scalise said they have a good relationship.
Scalise drew criticism for speaking in 2002 to a group of white supremacists founded by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Scalise said in 2014 he was not familiar with the ideology of the group, the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, and that he regretted the mistake.
Scalise announced in August he was in treatment for multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. He has been at the Capitol in the weeks since.
If he is elected speaker, Scalise will take control of the House at a time when it has a lot on the agenda. Congress must pass spending bills before Nov. 17 to keep the government open.
House Republicans also have mounted an impeachment inquiry into President Biden over allegations that he and his family have personally profited from policy decisions made when he was vice president, though they have not produced evidence directly tying Biden to any wrongdoing.
The House is controlled by Republicans, while the Senate and the White House are in Democratic hands.
(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman)
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