Steve Scalise Makes Vow Before Possible Showdown with Jordan, Trump for Speaker
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has promised to back whomever GOP members nominate as the next speaker of the House, even if it isn’t him.
Scalise called on other candidates for speaker to do the same. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is the only other Republican who has announced a bid.
“I want to be the nominee, but I’ll support the nominee,” Scalise told Politico on Friday.
Former President Donald Trump has also been floated as a contender for the role. He has said he would accept the speakership on a short-term basis but officially endorsed Jordan on Friday.
The Republican House members will choose their nominee by majority vote on Wednesday, and then the full House will pick the speaker. Ideally, the nominee will be able to count on most if not all of the GOP conference to back him over the Democratic alternative.
The hope for Republicans is clearly to avoid the 15-round spectacle it took to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy speaker in January.
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who successfully brought the motion to vacate the speaker’s chair this week, said he would be fine with either Jordan or Scalise replacing McCarthy.
He told Newsmax on Wednesday that he nominated Jordan as speaker in January, and that Scalise is a “great guy” whom he could also vote for.
“If it’s Speaker Jim Jordan or Speaker Steve Scalise, there will be very few conservatives in the country who don’t see that as a monumental upgrade over Speaker McCarthy,” Gaetz said.
“I know this, if it’s Speaker Jim Jordan or Speaker Steve Scalise there will be very few conservatives in the country who don’t see that as a monumental upgrade over Speaker McCarthy.” — @RepMattGaetz@BiancaDLGarza pic.twitter.com/iHhdCo4ISp
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) October 4, 2023
Gaetz, along with seven other Republicans, joined all the House Democrats to remove McCarthy as speaker on Tuesday. The final vote was 216-210.
Scalise, who is more centrist than Jordan, is apparently someone Gaetz, and likely those who voted with him to oust McCarthy, believe they can trust as an honest broker.
Scalise told Politico that he believes he can help rival factions of the GOP come together. He spoke of no retaliation against Gaetz or the other members who voted to remove McCarthy.
“Look, the conversations right now are: How do we get back on track? How [do] we come back together?” Scalise said. “My background is somebody who’s built coalitions, who has united Republicans to come together on really tough things.”
“We don’t have the luxury of a big majority,” he added.
As proof of his conservative creds, Scalise cited his work on bills dealing with increasing energy production, border security, parents’ rights, health care and tax policy.
Asked if he would support changing the rule that allows one member to bring a motion to vacate the chair, Scalise said he would be open to it.
“It’s going to take everybody in our conference working together if we’re going to change that,” he noted.
For context, when Nancy Pelosi became speaker again in 2018, she set in place a rule that required a majority of a caucus to back such a motion.
It seems a good compromise would be at least requiring some significant faction within the GOP to bring the motion — maybe 10 or 20 members — so the speaker has some firmness in the position but knows that if he strays too far, removal could readily result.
In a letter to his fellow members of Congress on Wednesday, Jordan identified key issues the Republican-led House must seek to address.
They include abuses at the Department of Justice, soaring crime, open border policies, out-of-control federal spending and an economy struggling under Bidenomics.
“We are at a critical [crossroads] in our nation’s history,” Jordan wrote. “Now is the time for our Republican conference to come together to keep our promises to Americans.”
Scalise and Jordan both are good picks: May the right person to help the country get back on track win.
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