OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The Republican Party has chosen House Majority Leader Steve Scalise to be the next speaker.
On Wednesday, the Republican from Louisiana secured a simple majority of the Republican conference after defeating Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan in a secret ballot vote, Politico reported.
Scalise still faces a greater challenge: he needs to secure support from a majority of House members. To become president, he needs 217 votes while losing no more than 4 Republican votes.
House Republicans failed on Wednesday to adopt a plan to avoid another messy Speaker vote like the one that occurred during a historic 15-vote marathon in January when Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was chosen.
According to Politico, “House Republicans on Wednesday nixed an internal rules change that would have helped ensure whoever wins their speaker nod has the support needed to prevail on the floor.”
The report added: “Republicans voted 135-88 to table a proposal from Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) to require 217 of the 221 House Republicans to agree on their next leader before any speakership vote on the floor, where Democrats are set to remain united in support of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are the two leaders in the race to become the next Speaker. Some reports on Wednesday suggested that Scalise has the upper hand, though no vote has been scheduled. Also, some Republicans believe that it could take at least a few more days before a Speaker is chosen.
The outlet added:
After Kevin McCarthy struggled through 15 ballots before winning the speakership in January, Republicans began discussing the idea of changing their internal rules for tapping candidates to claim the top gavel. Advocates of the new standard argued that it would have saved House Republicans from another high-profile failure to unite behind a leader.
The tabling of the Roy proposal was confirmed by three people with knowledge of the vote. Some GOP lawmakers said privately that they supported the idea, but disagreed with how Roy’s measure was written.
Its rejection means that whoever lands the House GOP’s internal nomination will likely face a scramble to secure the needed votes before heading to the floor — or even during the floor proceedings, depending on when Republicans attempt to hold a speaker vote by the full chamber.
A faction of House Republicans on Wednesday turned down a bid for a plan to ensure that the next Speaker would go more smoothly than the record 15 votes it took in January before then-Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was finally chosen.
“House Republicans on Wednesday nixed an internal rules change that would have helped ensure whoever wins their speaker nod has the support needed to prevail on the floor,” Politico reported.
“Republicans voted 135-88 to table a proposal from Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) to require 217 of the 221 House Republicans to agree on their next leader before any speakership vote on the floor, where Democrats are set to remain united in support of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.),” the outlet added.
According to previous reports, current Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are vying to become the next speaker in a race that could be settled by the end of business on Wednesday, though many other Republicans believe it’ll take longer.
Politico said that the vote on Roy’s proposal was likely a test of support for Scalise “because his allies came to view the rules change as a covert effort to block him from becoming the conference’s nominee.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sounded an alarm during an interview on Sunday, saying the ouster of now-former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was a mistake that puts the U.S. in a “seriously weakened position” following Hamas’ attack on Israel.
“We’re in a seriously weakened position. Republicans that control the majority in the House of Representatives — I want to remind everyone that we barely control the majority of the House, and that’s only one-third of the federal government,” Greene told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
She also said she “completely disagrees” with the eight Republicans who voted with all Democrats present to remove McCarthy from his Speaker’s position, a historic first for the country, as The Messenger reported.
“This is not a serious thing to do when you control the House of Representatives,” Greene said.
Other Republicans agreed. Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas said it is “not ideal” to be without a Speaker during a crisis situation with a major American ally.
Greene, who posted a clip of her interview to her social media platforms, added: “What happened to Israel could happen to America. We have been invaded by aliens from over 160 different countries. We don’t know who they are or where they are. There are so many got-aways the Biden admin can’t even keep up with them. This should be a wake up call.”
