House Republicans selected a new candidate for speaker on Friday after days of disarray kicked off by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster from the job.
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was nominated for the position in a closed-door House GOP conference earlier Friday. The next step is a House-wide vote, where he will not be able to lose more than four Republican votes to still win the gavel without Democratic support.
Republicans hastily scheduled a candidate forum to pick their new leader on Friday afternoon after multiple measures aimed at raising the threshold to nominate someone failed.
It’s the second time House Republicans had to pick a candidate in the wake of McCarthy’s ouster. Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., won a majority of 113 votes via secret ballot on Wednesday in the GOP’s first attempt to choose a replacement for McCarthy, R-Calif.
But fast-growing opposition to his bid forced Scalise to drop out of the race on Thursday night.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, had been the expected frontrunner in the race, while Georgia Republican Rep. Austin Scott surprised many — including, it appeared, himself — when he entered the race after Republicans’ closed-door conference meeting earlier on Friday.
“When I woke up this morning, I had no intention of doing this. It took me a long time to even get to my wife to tell, her call our friends, be in prayer, because we’re not — we haven’t done any preparation or any whipping,” Scott told reporters. “But I believe if we as Republicans are going to make the majority, we have to do the right things the right way. And we’re not doing that right now.”
This story is breaking and will be updated…