House Republicans seem to have miscalculated their decision to oust Kevin McCarthy. With him gone, the GOP is in utter and total disarray. Steve Scalise, an avowed election denier, has been nominated by the GOP. The vote went 113-99 in his favor over Jim Jordan. The lower house adjourned shorn of a floor vote as it hadn’t been scheduled. Louisianian Steve Scalise ousted Ohio’s Jim Jordan from the nomination to replace Kevin McCarthy.
House Republicans had a meeting yesterday to hear from the 2 contenders at a forum held behind closed doors. Another private meeting was held to decide the eventual nominee by secret ballot. It will eventually go for a floor vote. The ruling Democrats, who lost control of the House last November, are backing Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, New York. But their nomination is a mere formality as they cannot muster the required votes to select the House Speaker.
Steve Scalise Has More Than 4 Republican Representatives Opposing Him, Thus Diminishing His Chances
The chain of events to appoint a new House Speaker unfolded yesterday as Rep. Gaetz, Florida, moved to oust McCarthy. He had the support of only eight Republicans, but the full Democratic camp backed him to push out Kevin McCarthy. This sudden and brutal betrayal left the House of Representatives leaderless even as the Hamas attack on Israel unfolded, quickly escalating into a war. The Congress was tied down, unable to marshal aid on a massive scale.
Several lawmakers including Lauren O. Boebert, Tomas Massie, Marjorie T. Greene, Max Miller, Anna P. Luna, Robert Good, and Chip Roy are opposed to Steve Scalise. That is way above the 4 that Steve Scalise can bear to lose. Each Republican Representative opposing him has their own reasons. While some find him linked to the existing state of affairs represented by McCarthy, others think he doesn’t have an effective plan of funding. Others also oppose him for the alacrity he exhibited while moving the House floor for voting.
