House Majority Leader Steve Scalise secured the GOP nomination for Speaker of the House during a Wednesday vote with House Republicans.
Scalise defeated Ohio Representative Jim Jordan for the GOP nomination by a 14-vote margin. The House Majority Leader received 113 votes from House Republicans while Jordan received 99. Eight Republicans voted present.
House Democrats have unanimously voted to nominate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
A vote to select the new Speaker of the House is expected as early as 3 p.m. EST, per The Hill.
Several House Republicans have expressed concern over a Scalise Speakership, including Representative Ken Buck who said he will have a conversation with the Majority Leader before throwing support behind him.
“I have three issues. One is the certifying the election. The second is putting a Ukraine vote on the floor. And the third is picking a number for appropriations,” Buck said. “I think that's something that we should handle in there."
”Because we're going to have the same problem all over again," he said in reference to McCarthy's historically contested Speaker vote in January. "There's going to be a significant portion of the conference that's going to be upset if we don't have a number.”
Ohio Representative Max Miller has come out against Scalise in support of Jordan.
“I’m not switching my vote. I’m with Jordan all the way, until Jim Jordan says he's not running for speaker," Miller said. "And I believe, as of yesterday, he said that he has no intention of backing out of the race. So why would I switch my vote?”
Last week, California Representative Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the office of Speaker of the House. McCarthy is the first Speaker of the House to be removed from the seat in United States history.
Florida Representative Matt Gaetz spearheaded efforts to remove McCarthy after it was revealed the former Speaker had agreed to future Ukraine aid with House Democrats in a closed-door meeting. Gaetz was joined by fellow House Republicans Andy Biggs and Eli Crane of Arizona, Buck of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Bob Good of Virginia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Matt Rosendale of Montana.
To secure Speakership, a nominee must receive 218 out of 435 votes from Congress. Republicans currently hold a nine seat majority over Democrats in Congress. Similar to McCarthy, only a handful of defecting Republican votes could tank a prospective Scalise Speakership.
After McCarthy was removed as House Speaker, North Caroline Representative Patrick McHenry assumed Speaker pro tempore until a vote could be held to select a new Speaker of the House.
