House Majority Leader Steve Scalise after a closed House Republican meeting that selected him to be House Speaker. Credit: Mariam Zuhaib/AP
Republicans on Wednesday nominated Rep. Steve Scalise to be the next House speaker and will now try to unite to elect a conservative in a floor vote following the impeachment of Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
< p>In a close vote in Capitol Republicans pushed Rep. Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman, in favor of Scalise, the current majority leader, lawmakers said.
A Louisiana lawmaker is considered a hero by some after he survived the mass shooting of lawmakers at a congressional baseball practice in 2017. He is currently battling blood cancer.
Jordan is known for his close alliance with Donald Trump. , especially when the then-president attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election, leading to the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump supported Jordan's offer to get the hammer.
Scalise and Jordan presented similar views at a GOP candidate forum Tuesday on cutting spending and securing the southern border with Mexico, a top Republican priority.
Republicans, who have been stymied since McCarthy's historic ouster last year week, will seek to assemble their narrow House majority around Scalise in what will likely be a close vote of the entire House. Democrats intend to oppose the Republican nominee.
Votes of the full House could take place as early as Wednesday afternoon.
“It could be a long week.”
“I don’t know how the hell you managed to get to 218,” Rep. Troy Nehls said, referring to the majority of votes typically needed in the 435-member House to become speaker. «This could be a long week.»
It is an extraordinary moment of political chaos that has brought the House of Representatives to a standstill at a time of uncertainty at home and crisis abroad, just 10 months after Republicans took power. In an effort to operate as a team and run government like a business, the GOP majority has strayed far from that goal following the unprecedented ouster of the Speaker.
Americans are watching. A quarter of Republicans say they approve of a small group of Republicans' decision to remove McCarthy as speaker, but three in 10 Republicans say it was a mistake, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
«I'm not thrilled with either option right now,» said Rep. Ken Buck, who voted to remove McCarthy.
It's unclear whether Scalise can muster the votes it would take from nearly all Republicans to overcome Democratic opposition. Normally the required majority is 218 votes, but there are currently two vacancies, lowering the threshold to 217.
Many Republicans want to prevent a spectacle of chaotic fighting in the House of Representatives, such as the grueling fight in January when McCarthy became speaker.
“People are uncomfortable going to the podium with a simple majority and then having C-SPAN and the rest of the world watch behind our fight,» said Rep. Kat Cammack. «We want to keep this family fight behind closed doors.»
Some have suggested changing the rules being considered by Rep. Patrick McHenry, the speaker pro tempore, to ensure a majority vote before a nominee is presented for a vote by the full House.
McCarthy himself seemed to agree with the consensus an approach. «They shouldn't leave until they think they have enough votes for whoever they put on the podium,» McCarthy said.
But unless there is a rule change, Republican lawmakers are expected to , will agree to the process of majority victory.
Neither Scalise nor Jordan were seen as the direct heir to McCarthy, who was ousted by far-right pressure after the speaker pushed Congress to approve legislation preventing a government shutdown.
Some lawmakers, including Rep. Matt Gaetz, who orchestrated McCarthy's removal, said they were ready to support either Scalise or Jordan.
McHenry is actually in charge at the moment. He has shown little interest in expanding his power beyond his assigned role as interim leader tasked with ensuring the election of the next Speaker.
This role was created after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. attacks to ensure continuity of government. McHenry's name was at the top of the list McCarthy presented when he became speaker in January.
On Wednesday, a senior Trump staffer told a New York court he knew the former president had overcharged. The size of his Trump Tower apartment.
Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's former chief financial officer, said Tuesday that the size of his Fifth Avenue property has tripled.
He said that The Trump Tower apartment was about 10,000 square feet, not 30,000 square feet as stated in financial reports.
Trump, 77, is accused of inflating the property's value by more than $2 billion (pounds). ). 1.6 billion) in a civil lawsuit brought by Letitia James, Attorney General of New York. The former president denies any wrongdoing.
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