U.S. House GOP Struggle to Elect a Speaker

October 12, 2023 | Washington, D.C.

by Eagle Forum Executive Director, Tabitha Walter

The U.S. House of Representatives is still without a Speaker. The hope of the Republican conference nominating the candidate on Tuesday and electing him on Wednesday came to a screeching halt when it became clear that the various factions could not coalesce behind one of the nominees.

After former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted from his position last Tuesday by Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and seven other Republicans, the GOP conference began the hard work of finding an individual to serve as Speaker who could receive the support of 217 Republicans. Both Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) threw their hats in the ring for the position, and each had strong supporters and definite detractors. Even though both members have solidly conservative voting records, the ability of to garner the necessary votes was an issue, as well as Representative Scalise’s diagnosis of blood cancer (for which he is currently receiving treatment).

The GOP conference rules allow for a simple majority to nominate a candidate for Speaker. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and other members of the House Freedom Caucus wanted to change that rule to require a nominee to gain 217 votes before that person could be offered to the full House for a vote. This would ensure that the floor vote for Speaker would be successful on the first ballot. However, Rep. Scalise made a motion to table the Roy amendment and it was defeated during the Republican-only meeting. If Rep. Roy’s amendment had been adopted, the Republicans would have been forced to resolve the issue of who would be Speaker during the Conference meeting and avoided the current stalemate.  Rep. Roy has refused to endorse Scalise saying, “it was one of the swampier things” he has witnessed.

During that GOP Conference meeting, a vote was held between Jordan and Scalise, and Rep Scalise received a slight majority 113-99 (of which three were from territorial delegates who are not allowed to vote on the floor. But, as Rep. Roy tried to highlight, 113 (or 110) is a far cry from the 217 votes necessary to win. The Republicans were in a position where the person who received the most votes in conference was unable to win the Speakership vote in the full House. For Rep. Scalise to have become Speaker, he needed at least 218 votes. A majority of Rep. Jordan’s 99 backers had agreed to vote for Scalise on the floor but 16 holdouts remained. Some of these holdouts said they would only vote for Jordan to be Speaker and believed if a vote were forced, Jordan would have the votes on the floor. That is a bold claim when others joked, “Jesus couldn’t get the 217 votes to be their Speaker.”

House GOP members met again on Thursday to attempt to resolve their differences but were unsuccessful. Late in the evening, Scalise announced to withdraw his nomination. He said, “Our conference still has to come together and we’re not there. There are still some people that have their own agendas.”

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) continues to vie for a chance at the Speakership. He currently would have 212 Democratic votes in the House. House Democrats are putting the call out for five Republicans in districts that voted for Biden to vote for Jeffries. This is not a possibility at this point, but there could be concerns if the Speaker fight lingers. 

As an interim solution, Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) floated the idea of a short-term Speaker. Currently, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is Speaker pro tempore. It is unclear what he can do in his position, but Joyce is in conversations with the parliamentarian to see if they could define those duties for up to 60 days so that they can pass time-sensitive bills.

With a looming government shutdown, a crisis at the Southern border, and wars happening in Ukraine and Israel, time is of the essence to appoint a leader at the helm. The House of Representatives cannot conduct any legislative business without a Speaker. While GOP members should vet the Speaker nominees, voice their concerns, and negotiate with that candidate for a more transparent process, they cannot move forward on important legislative items without a Speaker. A lame Congress does not serve the American people. We will continue to keep you updated.