Who will be the next speaker of the House of Representatives: Jim Jordan, Steve Scalise — or Kevin McCarthy?
With an internal House Republican meeting set for Wednesday to select their nominee, the focus is on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jordan of Ohio, House Majority Leader Scalise of Louisiana, and back on McCarthy.
McCarthy, the California Republican who just last week was ousted from the speaker’s office amid a revolt from hard-right members, on Monday was not ruling out a return to the position if support coalesces for him.
“I’m going to allow the conference to do their work,” McCarthy said at a news conference, declining to endorse either Jordan or Scalise for the speaker post.
The eventual speaker elected by the House will have an impact on the task of avoiding a government shutdown on Nov. 17, aid to Israel as it is engulfed in a war with Hamas, and longer-term spending priorities for Congress.
Read: Investment strategist Tom Lee sees Israel attack leading to ‘risk off’ market environment, where yields retreat and stocks rise
Here’s a bit more to know about each candidate.
Jim Jordan
Jordan, who is backed by former President Donald Trump and helped found the House Freedom Caucus — the most conservative group of House Republicans — said on Sunday that his first move should he win the post would be to help Israel.
The 59-year-old Jordan rails against what he calls “out of control” federal spending, and says failing to cut it will help bring on a financial crisis posed by rising benefits to Baby Boomers.
He’s also a critic of Big Tech
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and has claimed that tech platforms censor and silence conservatives. In July, he called Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan’s tenure at the agency “a disaster.”
Now read: House Republicans back down on holding Meta’s Zuckerberg in contempt of Congress
Kevin McCarthy
McCarthy, 58, struck a deal in May with President Joe Biden to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. While it prevented default, it was also his undoing as speaker.
The charge to oust McCarthy was led by Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who slammed the McCarthy-Biden deal as soon as the ink was dry. Though the deal essentially held spending flat for 2024 (but boosted it for defense
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and veterans), it wasn’t enough to satisfy hard-right conservatives like Gaetz.
With the war between Israel and Hamas providing a new urgency to elect a House speaker, McCarthy has called for giving Israel “full support” and confronting Iran, including by further targeting its oil
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sector.
Steve Scalise
Scalise, who represents a Louisiana district that touts a robust fossil-fuel
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industry, is known as an effective fundraiser for his fellow Republicans. He’s now the No. 2 House Republican, holding the title of majority leader.
The 58-year-old has said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Israel has the “full support” of the U.S. The expressions of support from Scalise and other candidates come as top Biden administration officials have reportedly told congressional leaders that the White House will soon ask Congress to approve additional military aid to Israel.
Scalise touts his votes for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement as evidence of what he calls his focus on issues that most impact Americans.
What comes next
A House-floor vote to select the speaker could happen as soon as Wednesday. A successful candidate needs the majority of those present and voting for speaker. In January, it took McCarthy 15 rounds to win the post.
Read on: House speaker election: How it works, who is running and what happens next
Some centrist Republicans are calling to restore McCarthy as speaker after the attacks on Israel, CNN reported. They are expressing concern that the House remains paralyzed without a speaker, and are worried they won’t be able to agree on a new candidate quickly.
Key Words: Ray Dalio calls McCarthy’s ouster ‘another step away from democracy and toward civil war’
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