House Republicans gear up to pick nominee for speaker, but it's unclear if any candidate can secure the votes
From CNN's Clare Foran, Haley Talbot, Melanie Zanona and Annie Grayer
House Republicans are set to meet behind closed doors Wednesday to pick a nominee to be the next speaker – but it remains unclear whether any candidate will have enough support to win the gavel following Kevin McCarthy’s abrupt ouster.
As of now, neither House Majority Leader Steve Scalise nor Rep. Jim Jordan – the two declared GOP candidates in the race – have locked down 217 votes, the necessary number to be elected speaker by a majority vote of the full chamber. The uncertain vote math has raised questions over how and when the GOP majority will be able to elect a new speaker, particularly as infighting continues to roil House Republican ranks.
Until a speaker is elected, the House remains effectively paralyzed following McCarthy’s ouster, an unprecedented situation that has taken on new urgency amid Israel’s war against Hamas. Raising the stakes further, the longer it takes Republicans to elect a new speaker, the less time lawmakers will have to try to avert a government shutdown with a funding deadline looming in mid-November.
Following a candidate forum Tuesday evening, Rep. Mike Garcia, a California Republican, said he thinks it’s “50/50” on whether the GOP will be able to elect a speaker Wednesday.
Asked whether anyone could get 217 votes, he said: “I think that’s a great question right now.”
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky rated the odds even lower. “I’d put it at 2%,” he said when asked by a reporter what the chances are there will be a new House speaker by Wednesday.
After his removal as speaker in a historic vote last week, McCarthy announced he would not run again for the post. But allies of the former speaker could still nominate him during Wednesday’s closed-door meeting, though McCarthy has said he has told members not to do so.
Currently, a candidate needs only a simple majority of the conference – or 111 votes – to win the GOP nomination for speaker, a much lower threshold than the 217 votes needed to win the gavel on the House floor.
A number of Republicans now say that threshold is too low because it does not ensure that the nominee will be able to win the floor vote for speaker.
Analysis: House GOP must overcome deep divide to choose speaker as Israel crisis exposes failure to govern
From CNN's Stephen Collinson
House Republicans must mend gaping splits in their conference if they are to succeed in picking a new speaker – as dangerous global crises in Israel and Ukraine expose the steep cost of their malfunctioning majority.
The two declared candidates, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, must demonstrate their capacity to either control or co-opt hardliners who ousted Kevin McCarthy last week and are making the US look like an ebbing superpower that cannot govern itself – let alone lead a world in turmoil.
Republicans on Wednesday are meeting for internal secret ballot elections to determine who will become their nominee to be second in line to the presidency. But the gravity of outside events is apparently doing little to shake the GOP out of its endless internal conflict because serious doubts remain over whether either Scalise or Jordan can win the necessary overwhelming support of the Republican conference in an eventual floor vote of the full House.
The House GOP already looked deeply negligent with time running out to stave off another government shutdown drama by the middle of next month. But if the House remains paralyzed much longer it will undermine the country’s capacity to respond to the horrific Hamas assault on Israel. And Ukraine’s battle to survive as a sovereign state will soon reach a critical point if its next aid package doesn’t make it through the House.
Republican lawmakers met Tuesday night as Jordan and Scalise made their pitches. The situation is so fraught because the tiny House GOP majority means that a candidate for speaker can only lose four Republican votes and still win the gavel in a full House vote. Democrats refused to save McCarthy from a revolt by eight hardliners last week and on Tuesday named their leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, as candidate for speaker, suggesting they will sit on the sidelines again, content to expose the dysfunction in the GOP ahead of next year’s election.
Rep. David Valadao, a California Republican who faces a tough reelection fight, said it could be difficult for either Scalise or Jordan to win outright. “I think both candidates are going to struggle. … But I don’t know exactly where their numbers are,” Valadao said. “It seems like they are both scrambling and they’re both working hard. So I don’t know if anyone is super confident right now.”
Jeffries calls on House GOP to unify around a speaker candidate so chamber can move aid package for Israel
From CNN's Morgan Rimmer
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries highlighted the need for the GOP to unify around a candidate for speaker in order to get the chamber up and running again.
“It’s important for House Republicans to end the GOP civil war and find a way forward to partner with Democrats in a bipartisan fashion to handle the business of the American people domestically, as well as enable us to be there for Israel, to be there for Ukraine, and to be there for the free world,” Jeffries said as he left a classified briefing on the conflict in Israel.
Jeffries, who is expected to be the Democratic nominee for speaker, emphasized the importance of sending aid to Israel, condemning the attacks by Hamas and calling America’s ties to Israel “unbreakable. He told reporters that the question of tying Israel aid to funding for Ukraine is “up for discussion.”
“We await the administration presenting to us its request, and then we’ll take it from there,” Jeffries said.
House Republicans are set to meet behind closed doors Wednesday to pick a nominee to be the next speaker – but it remains unclear whether any candidate will have enough support to win the gavel following Kevin McCarthy’s abrupt ouster.
A more than two-hour House GOP candidate forum saw Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Steve Scalise of Louisiana explain to the conference Tuesday night why each is the best choice for the speakership, but some House Republicans still say it will be difficult for either candidate to get the support needed to win.
House Democrats held a similar candidate forum — which was less than an hour — to officially nominate their leader, Rep.Hakeem Jeffries, for speaker.
House Republicans are set to meet behind closed doors Wednesday to pick a nominee to be the next speaker – but it remains unclear whether any candidate will have enough support to win the gavel following Kevin McCarthy’s abrupt ouster.
As of now, neither House Majority Leader Steve Scalise nor Rep. Jim Jordan – the two declared GOP candidates in the race – have locked down 217 votes, the necessary number to be elected speaker by a majority vote of the full chamber. The uncertain vote math has raised questions over how and when the GOP majority will be able to elect a new speaker, particularly as infighting continues to roil House Republican ranks.
Until a speaker is elected, the House remains effectively paralyzed following McCarthy’s ouster, an unprecedented situation that has taken on new urgency amid Israel’s war against Hamas. Raising the stakes further, the longer it takes Republicans to elect a new speaker, the less time lawmakers will have to try to avert a government shutdown with a funding deadline looming in mid-November.
Following a candidate forum Tuesday evening, Rep. Mike Garcia, a California Republican, said he thinks it’s “50/50” on whether the GOP will be able to elect a speaker Wednesday.
Asked whether anyone could get 217 votes, he said: “I think that’s a great question right now.”
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky rated the odds even lower. “I’d put it at 2%,” he said when asked by a reporter what the chances are there will be a new House speaker by Wednesday.
After his removal as speaker in a historic vote last week, McCarthy announced he would not run again for the post. But allies of the former speaker could still nominate him during Wednesday’s closed-door meeting, though McCarthy has said he has told members not to do so.
Currently, a candidate needs only a simple majority of the conference – or 111 votes – to win the GOP nomination for speaker, a much lower threshold than the 217 votes needed to win the gavel on the House floor.
A number of Republicans now say that threshold is too low because it does not ensure that the nominee will be able to win the floor vote for speaker.
House Republicans must mend gaping splits in their conference if they are to succeed in picking a new speaker – as dangerous global crises in Israel and Ukraine expose the steep cost of their malfunctioning majority.
The two declared candidates, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, must demonstrate their capacity to either control or co-opt hardliners who ousted Kevin McCarthy last week and are making the US look like an ebbing superpower that cannot govern itself – let alone lead a world in turmoil.
Republicans on Wednesday are meeting for internal secret ballot elections to determine who will become their nominee to be second in line to the presidency. But the gravity of outside events is apparently doing little to shake the GOP out of its endless internal conflict because serious doubts remain over whether either Scalise or Jordan can win the necessary overwhelming support of the Republican conference in an eventual floor vote of the full House.
The House GOP already looked deeply negligent with time running out to stave off another government shutdown drama by the middle of next month. But if the House remains paralyzed much longer it will undermine the country’s capacity to respond to the horrific Hamas assault on Israel. And Ukraine’s battle to survive as a sovereign state will soon reach a critical point if its next aid package doesn’t make it through the House.
Republican lawmakers met Tuesday night as Jordan and Scalise made their pitches. The situation is so fraught because the tiny House GOP majority means that a candidate for speaker can only lose four Republican votes and still win the gavel in a full House vote. Democrats refused to save McCarthy from a revolt by eight hardliners last week and on Tuesday named their leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, as candidate for speaker, suggesting they will sit on the sidelines again, content to expose the dysfunction in the GOP ahead of next year’s election.
Rep. David Valadao, a California Republican who faces a tough reelection fight, said it could be difficult for either Scalise or Jordan to win outright. “I think both candidates are going to struggle. … But I don’t know exactly where their numbers are,” Valadao said. “It seems like they are both scrambling and they’re both working hard. So I don’t know if anyone is super confident right now.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries highlighted the need for the GOP to unify around a candidate for speaker in order to get the chamber up and running again.
“It’s important for House Republicans to end the GOP civil war and find a way forward to partner with Democrats in a bipartisan fashion to handle the business of the American people domestically, as well as enable us to be there for Israel, to be there for Ukraine, and to be there for the free world,” Jeffries said as he left a classified briefing on the conflict in Israel.
Jeffries, who is expected to be the Democratic nominee for speaker, emphasized the importance of sending aid to Israel, condemning the attacks by Hamas and calling America’s ties to Israel “unbreakable. He told reporters that the question of tying Israel aid to funding for Ukraine is “up for discussion.”
“We await the administration presenting to us its request, and then we’ll take it from there,” Jeffries said.
