Oct. 13 (UPI) — Georgia Rep. Austin Scott announced on Friday that he will seek the votes needed to become the next speaker of the U.S. House, joining California’s Jim Jordan in seeking the post.
Scott has been a critic of the eight hard-right Republicans who voted to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.
He made the surprise announcement on Friday and said he will make a presentation in front of his fellow Republicans during a closed-door meeting.
His announcement comes on the heels of Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the No. 2-ranking Republican in the House, dropping out of the race Thursday.
“I have filed to be Speaker of the House,” Scott said on X, the social media platfrom formerly known as Twitter, Friday afternoon. “We are in Washington to legislate, and I want to lead a House that functions in the best interest of the American people.”
Jordan had lost an intra-GOP vote to Scalise to become speaker on Wednesday but Scalise could not get enough Republican votes to win the role on the open House floor. He announced Thursday he was dropping out.
Scott had roundly criticized his eight fellow GOP members who ousted McCarthy from his House speakership, calling them last week “nothing more than grifters who have handed control of the House to the Democratic Party in the name of their own glory and fundraising.”
But Scott will need at least four of them to vote in his favor if he plans on becoming the next House speaker.
“I don’t necessarily want to be the speaker of the House,” Scott said. “I want a House that functions correctly, but the House is not functioning correctly right now. I don’t know if anyone can get to217 in our conference.”