Closer to a new speaker of the House? Republicans back Steve Scalise behind closed doors

WASHINGTON — House Republicans made a major step toward electing a new speaker on Wednesday, formally nominating as a conference House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

In an internal secret ballot vote, Scalise beat out his primary rival, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, by a vote of 113-99, according to Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

"We have a lot of work to do," Scalise said exiting the closed-door meeting where the vote was held. "Not just in the House for the people of this country but we see how dangerous of a world it is and how things can change so quickly."

The conference vote however, is just a sign of approval from House Republicans at large. The House still has to formally elect a new speaker on the House floor, and lawmakers are still free to nominate other candidates. 

Exiting the vote, multiple GOP lawmakers including Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, told reporters they still planned to vote for Jordan on the House floor in a display of the uphill battle Scalise is facing to become speaker.

House Republicans control the lower chamber by a razor-thin majority. Scalise needs 217 votes to be elected speaker and can only afford to lose four votes considering there are 221 House Republicans.

Opposition to Scalise slowly racked up on social media as other Jordan's supporters said they would still vote for the Ohio Republican on the floor. As it became clear Scalise did not immediately have the votes necessary to become speaker, the House recessed in the afternoon, but a later vote still remained possible.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said on X, formerly Twitter, said she voted to nominate Jordan in conference and still plans to vote for him on the House floor, citing health concerns with Scalise as he is currently battling a treatable form of blood cancer.

House Democrats are expected to stay out of the process and rally behind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for the speakership in a show of unity. The onus, they say, is on House Republicans to elect a new speaker. 

Just 8 GOP lawmakers voted to remove McCarthy, inciting fury from the rest of the House Republican conference. Emotions ran so high, lawmakers went home after McCarthy's ouster to recuperate and discuss next steps on crowning a new leader.

The bitter speaker fight has been happening against the backdrop of a growing war between Israel and Hamas militants. Lawmakers also have just weeks to avoid a government shutdown. The House, virtually powerless without a speaker, is unable to address either of those issues as long as the speakership remains vacant.

After McCarthy's historic ouster last week, which was the first time a speaker was removed from their post in U.S. history, House Republicans were consumed by bitter infighting as the lower chamber was left paralyzed without a speaker.

Scalise's uphill path to becoming speaker reflects the divisions within House Republicans even after his nomination.

Prior to the nomination vote on Wednesday, GOP lawmakers debated changing an internal rule that required a candidate for speaker to earn 217 votes to become the nominee. That would effectively guarantee the prospective speaker had to have near unanimous support before heading to an official floor vote.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a Scalise supporter, told reporters he wasn't sure whether the Louisiana Republican could garner the 217 votes needed to ultimately become speaker and pointed to the eight Republicans who voted to eject McCarthy as an indication of splits within the House GOP conference.

"You got eight goofballs who only follow themselves. No loyalty at all," Bacon said.