Republican infighting returns US House speaker race to square one

[October 13, 2023]  By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans were struggling to restart their effort to pick a new leader for the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday after party infighting led nominee Steve Scalise to withdraw from the race for speaker.

As the House entered its 10th day without a leader, Republicans were still trying to decide how to conduct a second internal election to choose a new nominee. Many expected that pick to be House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, whom Scalise had bested in a secret ballot on Wednesday.

Scalise, the Majority Leader, had secured his party's nomination to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy but was short of the 217 votes needed to be elected on the House floor, with as many as 20 fellow Republicans - most of them Jordan supporters - said saying would not vote for him.

His departure from the race angered Republican lawmakers and raised doubts about whether Jordan could drum up the necessary votes.

"Members have got to get it through their heads that they're squandering a majority. They are squandering a majority. The American people deserve better than this," Representative Andy Barr told reporters after Scalise announced his withdrawal.

"We were elected for a reason, but we are reversing an election because we can't even find a speaker," he added. "That is not what the American people voted for in 2022."

Republicans were due to meet behind closed doors at 10 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) on Friday to consider options for a new second secret ballot for speaker that could come later in the day.

Some lawmakers hope to revive a proposal requiring any candidate to secure 217 Republican votes to become the nominee. Scalise and his allies defeated that plan this week, angering Jordan supporters and stiffening their resistance to Scalise.

But Jordan, who did not immediately renew his candidacy after Scalise withdrew, could soon face similar problems.

'REWARDING BAD BEHAVIOR'

Representative Don Bacon, a Republican centrist, said he and other lawmakers are withholding support for Jordan for now.

A man walks by the Capitol where today House Republicans will continue proceedings to elect a new House speaker following last week's ouster of Kevin McCarthy at the Capitol in Washington, U.S., October 12, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

"I'm grappling with that," Bacon told reporters. "We had five individuals today who said they would only vote for Jim and not Steve. So, many of us ... feel that's rewarding bad behavior, if we do that."

Bacon also said he would expect a Jordan bid for the nomination to face a challenger.

Without a speaker, the House remained in state of paralysis despite increasingly urgent calls for action to help Israel in its war against Hamas and to avoid a possible federal government shutdown after current funding expires on Nov. 17.

Given a slim 221-212 House Republican majority, the next speaker can afford to lose support from no more than four Republicans and be elected speaker over Democratic opposition.

Republicans had been hoping to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing spectacle that occurred in January, when hardline conservatives forced McCarthy to endure 15 floor votes over four days before winning the gavel.

Scalise's withdrawal followed days of closed-door stalemate that prompted some Republicans to demand that the election be taken to the House floor.

"The underlying problem is that we have increasingly a culture in this town that thinks if you don't get everything you want, you get to vote 'no'. That's no way to run government," Representative Dusty Johnson said.

Representative Greg Murphy suggested that Republicans could settle on a compromise candidate, perhaps Representative Patrick McHenry, who has served as acting speaker since McCarthy's ouster on Oct. 3.

The ongoing schism within Republican circles has also raised speculation about Republicans possibly reaching out to Democrats to support a consensus candidate.

(Reporting by David Morgan; additional reporting by Moria Warburton and Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone and Gerry Doyle)

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