On Wednesday, local time (October 11), Republicans in the US House of Representatives decided to nominate Representative Steve Scalise from Louisiana as the new candidate for Speaker of the House.
According to media reports, Scalise, the current House Majority leader, won the support of 113 of the 221 House Republicans, defeating the support of 99, the current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan (Jim Jordan). Scalise would then need the support of a majority of House members in a vote of the full House to become the new speaker.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed an "unprecedented" resolution to remove Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy, making McCarthy the first sitting speaker of the House to be voted out of office. At the time of McCarthy's ouster, some analysts thought Scalise was one of the top candidates to replace him.
While Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry was appointed interim Speaker immediately after the resolution to remove McCarthy was passed, the House remained effectively paralyzed, unable to advance the legislative agenda.
Earlier in the day, Scalise told reporters, "We have to get back to work today." When Jordan was asked if he would support Scalise, he said he would support "whoever can get 217 votes." However, there are media reports that the House will not hold a full vote on the matter this afternoon.
With two vacant seats in the 435-member House, Scalise needs 217 to win the speakership. The Democrats control 212 seats and have chosen their minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, as their candidate for speaker.
The Republicans now control 221 seats, and while Scalise can easily win the support of a majority of his party, winning the speakership requires the support of almost all Republicans. If five House Republicans abstain, a new vote will be required. Therefore, it is not ruled out that the House of Representatives will be difficult to choose a new speaker for several days.
In January, McCarthy was elected speaker after 15 votes over five days and only reached a compromise after making concessions to hard-liners in the Republican Party, which ultimately left his position in the post vulnerable.
Earlier this month, Congress passed bipartisan legislation to keep the government open through Nov. 17, sparking a bitter fight within the Republican Party that led to McCarthy's removal.
This means that Scalise must find a way to make changes to this way of operation after taking office as Speaker of the House, if Congress cannot reach an agreement on federal spending legislation by November 17, it will again face the risk of "shutdown".