House Republicans restart speaker search after Scalise drops out: ‘It’s a math problem’

The House was thrown into even more chaos after House Republicans’ speaker designate, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), withdrew from the race once it became clear he had no path to win the election, leaving the House leaderless for a 10th straight day.

GOP lawmakers are set to meet for their fifth consecutive day of closed-door meetings on Friday as they plot a path forward and try to coalesce around a candidate who can get the 217 votes necessary to become speaker on the House floor. Members are expected to reconsider a number of rule changes that could dictate how they choose their next speaker, but it remains unclear when the chamber will vote on its next nominee.

SPEAKER VOTE: SCALISE AND HOUSE REPUBLICANS COULD BE FACING ANOTHER FLOOR FIASCO

After a day of meeting behind closed doors with the full conference and those opposed to his speakership, Scalise announced Thursday night he would be withdrawing his name from the running.

“There were people who told me they were fine with me three days ago who were moving the goalpost and making up reasons why that had nothing to do with anything,” Scalise told reporters.

With him out of the mix, the Republican conference is now scrambling to find who will be its next nominee for speaker. Lawmakers will meet again for another conference meeting at 10 a.m. on Friday, where members will talk about who could be the next nominee, as well as consider a number of rules going forward for electing a speaker.

It’s possible lawmakers could consider adopting a new rule, which would require a candidate to receive 217 votes within the conference before advancing the nomination to the floor for a full vote in the House. Republicans voted to table that motion earlier this week.

The majority of the holdouts on Scalise were supporters of House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), who ran against Scalise but lost 113-99 in conference on Tuesday, and now the Ohio Republican is expected to run for speaker again.

“I think today we got to focus on a great American like Steve Scalise. Any type of announcement about what may or may not happen, I think is best done tomorrow,” Jordan said following Scalise’s announcement. “Look, when I decided to run before, I waited until the next day after Kevin made his decision. I thought that was appropriate. I will do the same thing right now. I’ll wait.”

Multiple GOP aides and members have said that they believe Jordan is the only candidate who can get to 217 votes.

“Jim’s got a heart of a warrior to go do this, and it’s time to change,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who supports Jordan, said on a radio show Thursday. “And if the old guard thinks that the status quo is working, someone show me what they’re proud of that Congress has done over the last 30 or 40 years. … I think Jim has demonstrated a willingness to take on the status quo but also work with people in town to figure out how to get things done and work across the conference.”

Several members are expected to back Jordan for the nomination, although it’s possible other lawmakers could submit their names for consideration. Shortly after Scalise rescinded his name from consideration, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) floated at least three additional names that could be considered: Reps. Kevin Hern (R-OK), Mark Green (R-TN) and former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin.

“I don’t know who else would run. I would tell you I know Jim Jordan would do a good job,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD). “I know Jim is absolutely capable of running this conference, leading this conference, but I also want to give other candidates a shot.”

However, there is not an official list of names who are actively seeking to be speaker, several members said while coming out of Thursday’s conference meeting.

“Not yet,” said Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) when asked if other names have been floated for consideration. “I wish there wouldn’t be.”

Some centrist members have said they do not want to support Jordan for speaker due to him being a more hard-line conservative on the House Freedom Caucus.

One House GOP aide told the Washington Examiner that centrists who represent districts President Joe Biden won in 2020 “aren’t voting for Jim Jordan.”

“By empowering Jim Jordan, moderates can expect to vote on items such as expunging the two impeachments of President Trump, federal abortion restrictions, steep cuts to safety-net programs, and protecting January 6th insurrectionists. The campaign ads basically write themselves,” the aide said.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a centrist member who represents a district Biden won in 2020, said he would “chew on” whether or not he will support Jordan but worries that electing him would “reward bad behavior” of the members who tanked Scalise’s nomination.

But, on Tuesday, after the candidate forum, the Nebraska Republican did praise Jordan and the plan he laid out for the conference.

“I thought [Jordan] did a very good job,” Bacon said at the time. “They both did. I mean, I don’t want to take anything away from Steve, but I thought Jim handled himself in a way that he’s going to represent the entire conference. … He didn’t come off as the Freedom Caucus guy. He came off as ‘I can represent everybody,’ and he had a, I would say straightforward, reasonable plan.”

There are members who are already publicly against Jordan. Reps. Austin Scott (R-GA) and Ann Wagner (R-MO) have both said they won’t support Jordan for speaker, and Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) has stayed firm in his stance that he will continue to only vote for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

“We’re going to have the same problem with Jordan that we had with Scalise,” said Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA), who said he’s supporting Jordan. “I think it’s a math problem.”

There are other potential candidates as well, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN). McCarthy also left the door open to running again and has at least two supporters within the conference who are expected to vote for him, Gimenez and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA).

“Let the conference decide,” McCarthy said when asked if he’d run again. “I just think the conference as a whole has to figure out their problem, solve it, and select a leader.”

Thursday night, after Scalise withdrew his name, McClintock started circulating a “dear colleague” letter and a long-shot resolution to condemn the vote last week that ousted McCarthy and to recommend him as the conference’s next nominee for speaker.

“Our conference never voted to oust our Speaker,” McClintock said in his letter. “Eight of our ‘morally superior’ colleagues made that decision for us. And for the last nine days, we’ve been jumping through their hoops. … Let’s put the ouster of Speaker McCarthy to a conference vote. Specifically, I propose to condemn the House vote that removed him, and re-nominate him for that office, and then keep voting until enough of our wayward colleagues return to the fold.”

Another name floated has been Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who currently serves as speaker in a placeholder role.

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When asked if he would accept the job, McHenry said, “It is up to the will of the conference.”

Lawmakers are expected to reconsider a number of rules that were previously floated in Wednesday’s election meeting as well as hold another candidate forum at some point within the next week. Still, the exact schedule is not entirely clear as the House grapples with the ramifications of the historic ouster of a sitting speaker.