The speakership vote is expected to head to the House floor as early as Wednesday afternoon, when Scalise will need at least 217 votes to become speaker. Democrats are expected to nominate House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), meaning the election will come down to a party-line vote.
Although Scalise secured the nomination, it also does not ensure other members won’t nominate Jordan for the speakership — possibly setting the stage for a multiround election like the one lawmakers experienced in January, when it took Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) 15 rounds to secure the leadership position.
There are already at least three GOP members who have indicated they will vote for someone other than Scalise for speaker. He can only afford to lose four votes.
Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) said he will not vote for anyone but Jordan on the floor. He said until Jordan takes himself out of the race, he won’t even consider voting for Scalise or any other candidate.
But even then, he’s not sure if he’ll vote for Scalise, he said.
“But you know what, we just had 6% of the conference dictate the speaker of the House," Miller said. "So why would I let 51% dictate the next speaker? The numbers don't make any sense across the board.“
“I will continue to vote for Jim Jordan," he added. "I never said [Scalise] is the wrong leader. I just think right now we need to reevaluate all leadership."
The closed-door election was conducted through a secret ballot, so it’s not clear which members supported which candidates except for those who have publicly confirmed their votes. However, when the motion comes to the floor, members will cast their votes through a verbal roll call.
The vote comes after McCarthy was ousted from the position last week after eight House Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to vacate the speaker’s chair. He later said he would not run again and asked members not to nominate him.
Scalise said on his way into the GOP conference that the first order of business under his speakership would be to “bring a strong resolution expressing support for Israel.”
Also among the top of Scalise’s first priorities if elected speaker would be advancing the House’s 12 appropriations bills ahead of the Nov. 17 deadline, after which federal funding is set to lapse. Congress passed a stopgap measure to fund the government until then, but McCarthy’s ouster has left lawmakers with a tight deadline to get all their spending legislation in order.
Scalise and Jordan had emerged as the top two possible nominees for the speakership, with Jordan leading the way in endorsements over the last week.
Jim Jordan was also pointless as he readies America's ass for screwing in the same type of grift that McCarthy was running.
Maybe I'm just "intolerant", but I don't think any country deserves our cash right now unless it is in the form of trade agreements.
We shouldn't be sending cash to anyone. If people need stuff, send them food or blankets, that's it.
I don't even really agree with food or blankets unless it's attached to a deal that makes them indebted to us.
We always need to remember that it's not going to be Israel, or Palestine, or England, or anywhere else that will help us if/when things go bad: it'll be ourselves. That's why we should be using our resources to stockpile and ensure adequate safety for the citizenry of this country.
And also why other countries should be doing the same.
I can agree to that quite easily.
Food & blankets might be OK. but not anything too precious. Long long time ago someone gave advice about that: "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."
Agreed.