Wisconsin Republicans supported Steve Scalise before he withdrew, throwing House into chaos

WASHINGTON – Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise Thursday night withdrew his name from the race for speaker after struggling over the past two days to rally the support of his fractured caucus, keeping the House's top spot vacant and business stalled.

"I just shared with my colleagues that I'm withdrawing my name as a candidate for the speaker-designee," Scalise said Thursday evening. "If you look at where our conference is, there’s still work to be done. Our conference still has to come together, and it’s not there."

Just hours earlier, five of Wisconsin's six House Republicans signaled their support for Scalise after he was narrowly nominated for the post in a secret ballot vote Wednesday.

But Rep. Scott Fitzgerald remained non-committal early Thursday afternoon as Scalise fell well short of the 217 votes he needed to be elected on the floor.

"My problem is, if you don't have the votes, we ain't going to the floor," Fitzgerald said after an hours-long, closed-door conference meeting earlier in the afternoon. "So there's no reason for me to necessarily commit if it's going to be somebody else that's going to be on the floor."

"The people that aren't there are never going to get there," Fitzgerald told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Scalise's withdrawal from the race emphasizes the uncertainty surrounding who will lead Congress' lower chamber, which has remained leaderless after eight Republicans led an effort to oust California Rep. Kevin McCarthy after nine months in the speakership.

Within Wisconsin's Republican delegation, members who previously supported Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, early Thursday appeared to step in line with many in their conference in supporting Scalise.

Rep. Tom Tiffany, who sits on Jordan's committee with Fitzgerald, endorsed Jordan earlier this week but later said that his "intention at this point" was to back Scalise. He stopped short, however, of giving Scalise his full support. "It's really a dynamic time," Tiffany said. "I want to see what comes out of the conference... before saying exactly what I'm going to do because I don't know."

Rep. Glenn Grothman, who previously said he was leaning toward supporting Jordan, said after Wednesday's secret ballot vote: “Absolutely I’ll vote for Steve (Scalise) on the floor. We all ought to fall in line. Everybody should respect that vote.”

Meanwhile, Reps. Mike Gallagher, Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden all said earlier in the day they would back Scalise on the House floor.

"I think we need to move forward and be united behind the speaker-designee," Steil told the Journal Sentinel on Wednesday. "Every day that we don't have a united approach is a step in the wrong direction."

And Gallagher on Wednesday told MSNBC after Scalise's nomination by the conference that he hoped "everyone would support Steve Scalise on the House floor regardless of who they voted for."

The paralysis is plaguing the House at a consequential time. The chamber is unable to take action to assist Israel and Ukraine as both allies are consumed with war. Congress also faces a mid-November deadline to pass government funding legislation before its short-term spending patch expires.

"There are thing we need to do that simply cannot happen until we nominate a choose a speaker of the House," Gallagher said.

Still, a number of House Republicans remain ardently against their conference's nominee. Some, like Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles, maintained their support for Jordan even as the Ohio Republican suggested he might nominate Scalise for the top job himself.

Texas Rep. Chip Roy took issue with Scalise's opposition this week to a proposed conference rule change, telling reporters Thursday, "I'm never just going to say I'm a never-so-and-so. We're adults. Let's go figure out how to lead. But I'm not in a positive place right now with respect to Steve (Scalise)."

Fitzgerald, for his part, raised concerns about Scalise's health. Scalise has multiple myeloma, a form of cancer, which Fitzgerald worried could impact the man's ability to take on the demanding job of speaker.

The divisions within the House GOP leave open the prospect that Congress' lower chamber could conclude its second week without selecting a leader.

Speaking to a group of reporters Thursday afternoon, Arkansas Republican Rep. Steve Womack said he doubted the House would vote for a speaker later in the day.

"In fact, based on what I've heard, I don't think there's going to be a vote this week," he said.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Steve Scalise withdraws from speaker bid, leaving House paralyzed