Constitution
Steve Scalise might drop out of Speaker race
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), who narrowly won the nomination to be Speaker of the House, lacks the votes to prevail in the full House.
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), who narrowly won the Republican nomination to become Speaker of the House, might not run for Speaker after all, according to The Gateway Pundit. He seems to have found himself unable to secure the 217 votes he would need to win.
Steve Scalise hits the wall
Scalise, as House Republican Floor Leader, is second-in-command in House leadership, behind the Speaker. The post of Speaker fell vacant after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) “moved to vacate the chair.” Steve Scalise, competing with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), won the nomination by seven votes. Furthermore, this happened in closed session.
(Former President Donald J. Trump, whom several House members might have liked to see become Speaker, declined, and endorsed Jordan.)
But earlier today, The Gateway Pundit observed that Scalise doesn’t have the votes. (The House declined to vote on a new Speaker yesterday afternoon.) Eight House Members have indicated they will vote for someone else. That includes Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), who plans to vote to reinstate Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as Speaker. It also includes these seven, who plan to vote for Jim Jordan. They are Representatives:
- Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.),
- Bob Good (R-Va.),
- Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.),
- Nancy Mace (R-N.C.),
- Max Miller (R-Ohio),
- Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.), and
- Keith Self (R-Texas).
Strangely, Rep. Gaetz was planning to vote for Steve Scalise.
As it happens, six more Representatives hadn’t made up their minds. They are Representatives:
- Ken Buck (R-Colo.),
- Michael Cloud (R-Texas),
- Thomas Massie (R-Ky.),
- Chip Roy (R-Texas),
- Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), and
- Mike Turner (R-Ohio).
The House Republican Conference currently has 221 members, so Steve Scalise could afford to lose four of them. He definitely lacks eight, so even if the undecideds broke for him, he can’t win.
Breaking news
User ALX posted a bulletin from Newsmax TV saying they expected Steve Scalise to quit the race.
Former CNN host Lou Dobbs earlier encouraged Republicans to nominate someone other than Scalise.
After Scalise narrowly secured the nomination, several influencers – including Rep. Greene – clearly were balking.
This is a reference to Scalise’ diagnosis of plasma cell myeloma.
That last post is especially important, mentioning as it does the Liberty Score® for federal officeholders. Steve Scalise scored 58%, only four points above McCarthy’s 54%. Rep. Jordan scores 94%.
Terry A. Hurlbut has been a student of politics, philosophy, and science for more than 35 years. He is a graduate of Yale College and has served as a physician-level laboratory administrator in a 250-bed community hospital. He also is a serious student of the Bible, is conversant in its two primary original languages, and has followed the creation-science movement closely since 1993.
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