House Majority Leader Steve Scalise declined Tuesday afternoon to give a nominating speech for House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, who is running to be the next Speaker of the House, a source familiar told the Daily Caller.
Shortly after Jordan failed to receive enough votes earlier in the day to become the next Speaker of the House during the first round of votes, Scalise and Jordan met, a source familiar told the Caller. During their meeting, Jordan asked Scalise if he would give a nominating speech on Jordan’s behalf, to which Scalise declined, according to the source.
The Caller contacted Scalise’s office about his support for Jordan to which his spokesperson said: “Leader Scalise has been the only candidate throughout this process who has publicly declared he will be supportive of whomever the conference nominates for Speaker, and his position has not changed. He voted for Jim Jordan on the floor and will continue to do so.” (RELATED: Jim Jordan Fails To Receive Enough Votes For Speaker Of The House In First Round Of Votes)
The Caller asked specifically about the nominating speech and if Scalise is refusing to whip for Jordan, to which his spokesperson said: “Not true. He has spoken to members on Jim’s behalf and you can see that many Scalise allies flipped to Jordan.”
After the first rounds of votes, Jordan was shy of the necessary 217 votes to win the speakership. The final quorum call put the House attendance at 432, meaning 217 remains the majority threshold unless members voted “present” during the roll call vote for speaker. (RELATED: Here Are The 20 Republicans Who Voted Against Jim Jordan For Speaker In First Ballot Vote)
Both Scalise and Jordan said they were running for House speaker just one day after McCarthy was ousted on Oct. 3. After losing the speakership, McCarthy said he is leaving the position “with a sense of pride [and] accomplishment.” He later dismissed rumors that he planned to resign from Congress and announced his intention to seek another term. (RELATED: Kevin McCarthy Endorses Jim Jordan For Speaker Of The House)
The U.S. House voted to remove McCarthy as speaker after Democrats joined with eight House Republicans to vote for a motion to vacate the chair.
The House will vote again Tuesday on a Speaker of the House.
(This is a breaking story. More information will be added as it becomes available.)