Oct. 11 (UPI) — Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., has won the closed-door vote by House Republicans for speaker of the House, but division among the party remains.
Scalise told reporters that there is “still work to do,” referring to an impending vote on the House floor. He needs a simple majority on the House floor to be named speaker of the House.
If he does become the next speaker, his first order of business will be to pass a resolution by Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., to voice support for Israel and condemn Hamas.
“We have a lot of work to do. We see how dangerous of a world it is and how things can change quickly,” Scalise said. “The conversations I’ve had with my colleagues these last few days show that there’s a resolve. We need to get back to work. We need to send a message that the House is open and doing the people’s business.”
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said that a vote could reach the House floor as soon as 3 p.m. EDT Wednesday. He said he hopes Republicans will “unify as a party and put a speaker in the chair.”
“We can’t afford this dysfunction. The nation can’t afford it,” McCaul said. “We’re in dangerous times right now.”
Scalise earned 113 votes in the room, lawmakers told reporters. Jordan earned 99 votes.
Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, said he voted for fellow Ohioan Rep. Jim Jordan and does not intend to change his vote on the House floor. He casted doubt that the Republican conference will come together behind Scalise.
“We should’ve had 217 votes in that room to unify behind one person and we don’t have that,” Miller said. “I don’t know the tally but I promise you, you had probably 30 individuals in that room who didn’t even vote for either candidate.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who led the effort to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker, said he will vote for Scalise.
“Long live speaker Scalise,” Gaetz told reporters.
There is no guarantee a House floor vote will occur Wednesday.
Those rules were briefly in question during the closed-door meeting. The Republican conference mulled a proposal to raise the threshold. The amendment, proposed by Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., would have temporarily raised the threshold to 217 votes, rather than a simple majority. The proposal was rejected.
Roy endorsed Jordan for speaker.
“Now is a time for unity and I believe Jim can bring us together to finish the job we’ve started,” Roy said in a statement.
Scalise and Jordan publicly asked for support in their bid to lead House Republicans ahead of Wednesday’s meeting.
Former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, has weighed in on the debate for the new speaker. Last week, he endorsed Jordan.
Meanwhile, Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, has said he would nominate Trump.