House Republicans nominated Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) to be the next Speaker of the House after a secret ballot vote on Wednesday.
Scalise earned 113 votes and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who recently received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, received 99 votes.
If he is elected House speaker, Scalise said he will make Israel his first order of business.
“Our first resolution that we pass under Speaker Steve Scalise will be to make it clear that we stand with Israel. The McCaul-Meeks resolution will be our first order of business,” Scalise said, referring to the bipartisan resolution supported by Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.).
“We have a lot of work to do. Not just in the House for the people of this country, but we see how dangerous of a world it is and how things can change so quickly. We need to make sure we’re sending a message to people all throughout the world, that the House is open and doing the people’s business,” Scalise said.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the ousting of McCarthy, posted that Scalise is an improvement from the former speaker.
After the close secret vote, Jordan would not reveal whether he would back Scalise on the House floor.
“The conference is divided right now. I hope that we can come together,” Jordan said, according to The Hill.
Last week, Scalise expressed his support for then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was voted out of his leadership role shortly thereafter.
“We have a lot of work to do. Now is not the time for distractions. I’m committed to continuing to work with @SpeakerMcCarthy and our entire leadership team on reducing spending, securing our border, and fighting for hardworking Americans,” Scalise wrote.
This was a breaking news story. The details were periodically updated as more information became available.
