With Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ousted as speaker of the House on Oct. 3, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) are the first to throw their hat into the ring to succeed him.
A former wrestling coach, Mr. Jordan told reporters on Wednesday that he would fight for the gavel.
Mr. Jordan, who has been in Congress since 2007, was nominated during the speaker’s race in January but was not interested in taking the position that is next in line to the presidency after the vice president. He supported Mr. McCarthy’s bid.
“We are at a critical crossroad in our nation’s history. Now is the time for our Republican conference to come together to keep our promises to Americans,” Mr. Jordan wrote in a letter to colleagues.
“The problems we face are challenging, but they are not insurmountable. We can focus on the changes that improve the country and unite us in offering real solutions,” he continued. “But no matter what we do, we must do it together as a conference. I respectfully ask for your support for Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
In a letter to colleagues, Mr. Scalise listed bills the House has passed such as on border security and energy, and remarked that the job is not finished.
“Now is not the time to slow down,” he wrote. “We laid out an aggressive schedule to complete floor consideration of all 12 appropriations bills to go into Senate negotiations with the strongest hand possible, and we cannot afford to lose any more time achieving that goal.”
Mr. Scalise touched about his personal life including when he got shot in 2017 one day before the annual bipartisan Congressional Baseball Game for Charity.
“God already gave me another chance at life. I believe we were all put here for a purpose,” he said.
“This next chapter won’t be easy, but I know what it takes to fight and I am prepared for the battles that lie ahead,” continued Mr. Scalise, who is currently battling blood cancer. “I humbly ask you for your support on this mission to be your Speaker of the House.”
A candidate forum is scheduled for Oct. 10, with the speaker election set for the following day.
In addition to Mr. Jordan and Mr. Scalise, possible candidates to succeed Mr. McCarthy include House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.). All of them expressed support for Mr. McCarthy.
While Mr. Scalise has been seen as a logical successor, he has been battling cancer, which would likely cause him to miss some time from Congress.
After the motion to vacate the chair passed, 216-210, on Oct. 3, with eight Republicans joining 208 Democrats voting in favor, Mr. McCarthy announced that he would not run for speaker again.
Mr. McCarthy, who was the 55th speaker, told the caucus that he did not want to surrender to the Democrats, according to Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), the chairman of the Republican Study Committee. Mr. Hern has not ruled himself out as making a bid for speaker.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) has been named as speaker pro tempore (interim speaker) until a replacement is voted in.
Regardless of who will take over from Mr. McCarthy, the U.S. government is set to shut down in just over 40 days thanks to a continuing resolution that Mr. McCarthy pushed through. After that vote, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) filed the motion to vacate on Oct. 2.
Additionally, an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden is underway that involves the House Judiciary Committee.
During Mr. McCarthy’s tenure as speaker, the House passed legislation related to the debt ceiling, border security, energy, parental rights in education, and other issues.
Only the debt ceiling bill, which he negotiated with President Biden, became law.
Mr. McCarthy has said he is undecided about whether he will remain in Congress now that he no longer holds the gavel.
The House is in recess until Oct. 10.
From The Epoch Times
