Steve Scalise abruptly withdraws as House speaker candidate
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., announced he is pulling out of the race to be House Speaker during a Republican Conference meeting on Thursday, as reported by The Washington Post.
Just a day after defeating Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and earning the Republican nomination for the speaker role, several Republicans said they would refuse to vote for Scalise — threatening his potential to get the the 217 votes needed on the House floor, per the Hill.
“I just shared with my colleagues that I was withdrawing my name as a candidate for speaker-designee,” Scalise said on Thursday night, per The New York Times. “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. There are still some people that have their own agendas.”
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Scalise’s sudden exit puts Republicans back at the starting point. Without a speaker, the House is unable to pass the bills needed squash the looming threat of a government shutdown mid-November, per The Washington Post.
“This country is counting on us to come back together,” said Scalise, per the Hill. This House of Representatives needs a speaker and we need to open up the House again. But clearly, not everybody is there. And there’s still schisms that have to get resolved.”
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