House Republicans are set to hold a close-door meeting on Wednesday to select a nominee for House speaker, a week after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted from the position in a historic vote.
The two main candidates to succeed McCarthy as speaker are House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). As the GOP members of the House of Representatives deliberate who they will nominate to lead the lower chamber of Congress, here are three things to know going into the consequential meeting.
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Who is supporting Scalise and Jordan?
While Jordan currently has more public endorsements than Scalise, including an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, neither congressman has a majority of the House Republican Conference. Most Republicans have not endorsed one candidate over the other, and no clear winner emerged after the conference's candidate forum on Tuesday.
Scalise has the public support of several high-ranking Republicans in the House, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) and House Republican Conference Secretary Lisa McClain (R-MI), and several moderate representatives in the House GOP conference.
Jordan has the support of much of the conservative wing of the GOP conference, landing endorsements from Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), among others.
House rules changes up for debate
One of the most discussed House rules that could change with the new speaker election is the motion to vacate. The threshold to bring a motion to vacate was reduced to one representative in January, and was exercised by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) last week. The vote on the motion to vacate saw eight Republicans join all Democrats in removing the speaker, for the first time in history.
Several Republicans were furious with the ouster of McCarthy with how easy it was to bring a motion to vacate. A group of 45 House Republicans signed onto a letter last week calling for "fundamental change" to the GOP conference structure after the successful removal of McCarthy.
A change to the threshold for a motion to vacate is expected to be a sticking point for several Republicans, as they decide who to nominate for House speaker. Another change proposed for the House GOP conference is for a nominee to be selected for House speaker after 217 votes for a candidate, rather than a simple majority. This change would be done to avoid another lengthy speaker election on the House floor.
What effect will the meeting have on the House of Representatives?
The results of the meeting will have a significant impact on the business of the lower chamber of Congress, as the House of Representatives cannot function without a speaker.
If Republicans are too divided between the two candidates and are unable to move forward to a House floor vote, the lower chamber will be unable to pass anything even as a potential government shutdown looms in just over a month.
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The House GOP may choose to allow a simple majority to pick the nominee for speaker, but doing so could lead to a lengthy vote on the House floor similar to the 15-round voting marathon in January when McCarthy was elected as speaker.
An individual nominated for speaker must win a majority on the House floor to be elected, meaning a Republican candidate would only be able to lose four votes to still win the speakership.