House Republicans are once again left scrambling for a leader after Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., stepped back from being speaker-designate on Thursday night.
Scalise won a closed-door secret ballot vote to be the House GOP’s new candidate for speaker on Wednesday afternoon. However, it quickly became clear that he did not have the 217 votes needed to win a House-wide vote.
Republicans could begin voting on a new candidate as soon as Thursday, and several names have been floated as possible nominees.
Jordan was the only other formally declared candidate in the House GOP’s race for speaker, netting 99 votes to Scalise’s 113.
He had dozens more public endorsements than Scalise, however, and despite publicly backing the Louisiana Republican after the first conference vote, several members still said they would vote for him on the House floor.
But Jordan’s reputation as a bomb-thrower has made a significant share of the House GOP’s moderates wary.
Read more at FOXNEWS.com
What Are Your Thoughts?
