With House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) out, Congress now sets its sight on electing a new speaker. After being voted out of his role, Speaker McCarthy announced that he would not be running for the post again. As such, numerous names have emerged, but the question lingers as to who Republicans will support for speaker of the House.
After the vote, Vice President Mike Pence (R) commented that he was “deeply disappointed” in the Republicans that voted to oust McCarthy. However, he expected that a majority of Republicans would, once again, vote for McCarthy.
That won’t be the case as McCarthy has announced that he will not run for speaker.
This paves the way for other Republicans to seek the position, and a number of lawmakers have already announced their intention to run.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan (R) announced that he would run for the position, writing in a statement that “we are at a critical crossroad in our nation’s history. Now is the time for our Republican conference to come together to keep our promises to Americans.”
Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise (R) has also announced his intention to run, releasing a letter on social media outlining why he deserves the nomination.
“I have a proven track record of bringing together the diverse array of viewpoints within our Conference to build consensus where others thought it impossible,” Scalise wrote in the letter.
Yet another name that has been offered is President Donald Trump (R) himself.
Shortly after the vote to oust Speaker McCarthy, Texas Rep. Troy Nehls (R) took to social media to announce that he was going to nominate President Trump for Speaker of the House.
Soon after, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R) announced that Trump was the only candidate for speaker that she would be supporting.
When asked if he would accept the role of speaker of the House, Trump responded with “we’ll do whatever is best for the country and for the Republican Party.”
In speaking to several members of Florida's Republican congressional caucus, The Floridian has learned that Reps. Jordan and Scalise are the two heavy favorites for the job, but that Rep. Donalds is waiting in the wings and could throw his name in for consideration sometime early next week.
Florida House Republicans could see their political stock rise in the coming weeks, as Reps. Matt Gaetz, Byron Donalds, and Cory Mills, could be uniquely positioned to benefit from a Jordan speakership.
All three men are close to Jordan, in particularly Rep. Mills, and could be offered a seat at the House leadership table.
The Floridian Publisher Javier Manjarres contributed to this story.
