Several House Republicans Refuse To Vote For Scalise As Speaker

If all lawmakers are present and all vote, Rep. Steve Scalise can only afford to lose four Republicans out of the 217 in the conference but the number of those who oppose him exceeds the number he can lose.

Thursday, October 12th 2023, 3:44 pm

By: CBS News


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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Republican of Louisiana, has won the nomination of his party to be the next House speaker but must win an election on the House floor to win the office.

If all lawmakers are present and all vote, Scalise can only afford to lose four Republicans out of the 217 in the conference. Democrats are expected to vote against Scalise.

In the secret ballot election held in the GOP conference Wednesday, Scalise won 113, while his opponent, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, won 99. Many of those who supported Jordan have agreed to vote for Scalise on the House floor, but the number who oppose him exceeds the number he can lose.

The vote by the full House was originally scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. Wednesday but has been postponed.

Related Story: Scalise Nominated For Speaker; Oklahoma Congressman Hern Eyes House Majority Leader Spot

Here are the Republicans who say they will not vote for Scalise:

Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado tweeted, "I will be voting for Jim Jordan to be Speaker of the House on the floor when the vote is called."

Rep. Michael Cloud of Texas tweeted, "While I respect Steve Scalise, the underhanded efforts to rush this vote to the floor without getting full buy-in from the conference is extremely ill-advised and I will not be supporting the nomination on the floor, absent a further discussion."

Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida said, "I've always said I'm a McCarthy guy so until he says, hey, don't vote for anybody else... 'til he comes to me and says that, I'm voting for McCarthy."

Rep. Bob Good of Virginia tweeted: "I am still supporting Jordan. The country cannot afford the status quo."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia tweeted, "Jim Jordan is the fighter we need to be Speaker of the House in this time of national crisis."

Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina told CNN, "I plan on voting for Jim Jordan on the floor. I've been very vocal about this over the last couple of days." She also explained, "I personally cannot, in good conscience, vote for someone who attended a white supremacist conference and compared himself to David Duke. I would be doing an enormous disservice to the voters I represent in South Carolina if I were to do that." Scalise apologized in 2014 for giving a speech in 2002 to the European-American Unity and Rights Organization (EURO), which was founded by white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

Rep. Max Miller of Ohio told reporters, "I'm still putting my support behind Jim Jordan for Speaker. I'm not going to change my vote now or anytime soon on the House floor."

Rep. Chip Roy of Texas took issue with the attempt to schedule a speedy vote shortly after the conference nominated Scalise. "I will not be voting for @SteveScalise on the floor this afternoon," he tweeted. "The House GOP should NOT have called a vote at 300pm after finishing the vote at 130pm in Conference. That is unacceptable & purposeful."

Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania tweeted, "The House GOP Conference is broken. So we oust Kevin McCarthy and all other leaders are rewarded with promotions?... We need to chart a different path forward. In the meantime, I plan to vote for Jim Jordan on the floor."

Rep. George Santos of New York tweeted Wednesday night, "It's just past 9:40pm and I have yet to hear from the Speaker-Designate. So I've made my decision and after 10 months and having had 0 contact or outreach from him, I've come to the conclusion that my VOTE doesn't matter to him. I'm now declaring I'm an ANYONE but Scalise and come hell or high water I won't change my mind."

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida did an about-face on her support for Scalise after declaring Wednesday that she would cast her vote for him following a "personal meeting." But on Thursday, she wrote on social media that she would "no longer be voting for Scalise." She called for lawmakers to remain in Washington until they elect a new speaker and said "there is no consensus candidate for the Speaker and I don't think we will make it to the floor."

Rep. Brian Mast of Florida told CBS News that he "would have been willing to go out there and support Steve, but I can tell you in this moment right now, I would not support any member of our current leadership or anything … leaders lead. And that's not taking place."

Rep. Keith Self of Texas said on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, that he would cast his vote for Jordan when the House convenes to elect a new speaker.

Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia said in a statement that the country is at a "critical inflection point" that requires House Republicans to "reject the continuation of the swamp's status quo" and demand a change in leadership. Clyde said he believes Jordan is the Republican who can "effectively lead our conference and get our country back on track.

Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio wrote on social media that he believes House Republicans should unite around the leader "best suited to achieving" the conference's agreed-upon objective and said Jordan "meets the moment."

Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee said in a statement he supports Jordan, who has "proven himself a dedicated conservative leader who understands" the issues facing the country. Ogles said his constituents indicated that they support Jordan as speaker.

There are also a couple of lawmakers who have not committed to supporting Scalise yet:

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky told CBS News, "I'm still very reluctant."

Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio told CNN, "He came out with 110 votes; he needs 217. He's going to have to give us a message or understanding of how he's going to bridge that gap."

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