House Republicans to hold secret ballot election before nominating speaker

House Republicans are expected to hold a secret ballot election Wednesday after a closed-door candidates forum on Tuesday in which the two contenders vying to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will make their pitches.

The secret ballot internal election is a members-only meeting in which lawmakers will discuss choosing the next House speaker. House members are required to leave their cellphones outside the meeting to avoid leaks, the Washington Examiner confirmed. While the focus will be on discussing a House speaker nomination, members may consider rule changes such as lowering the threshold for bringing a motion to vacate the office of the speaker or the threshold for supporting a candidate.

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While neither Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) nor House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) currently have the 218 (or 217 with vacancies) votes from the conference needed to be elected speaker, Republicans are weighing a rule change to the nominating process from a simple majority to a majority of the House.

Currently, a speaker candidate needs 51% of the vote, currently 111, from the Republican conference to be advanced to the full House floor. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Chip Roy (R-TX) are leading the proposal to change the rule to raise the threshold to 217, hoping to avoid a repeat of McCarthy’s 15-round nomination in January.

“Whoever the candidate is, they should emerge with 217 from conference so that there is one vote on the House floor. We don’t want to repeat what happened last week or in January,” Fitzpatrick said.

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In an unprecedented vote last week, the House removed McCarthy after nine months as speaker, with leaders of the ousting citing his collaboration with Democrats to pass a measure to extend government funding for 45 days, temporarily avoiding a government shutdown. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is acting as speaker pro tempore until the next speaker is elected.

During a meeting Monday evening, multiple members expressed they would only vote for McCarthy for the House’s top role. It remains unclear when the House will hold a speaker election.