For the second time this year, the House speaker’s gavel is up for grabs, following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s unprecedented removal from the post Tuesday.
The House speaker’s gavel is up for grabs for the second time this year, and for the second time, that contest is threatening to divide the Republican caucus along ideological lines.
Reps. Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise are the top candidates to replace Kevin McCarthy, who was voted out as speaker in an unprecedented move Tuesday.
But a wild-card candidate floated by two House members was Donald Trump, the former and would-be president who faces four criminal indictments and several pending major civil lawsuits.
Republicans plan to hold a speaker candidate forum next Tuesday, followed by a possible vote the next day.
Judiciary Committee chairman Jordan was the first candidate to publicly throw his hat in the ring.
The Ohio lawmaker, who is a founding member of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus, was characteristically brief and businesslike as he announced his candidacy in a letter to GOP colleagues.
“We agreed at the beginning of the Congress that there are three fundamental things the House must do: pass the bills that need to be passed, do the oversight, and rein in the spending,” Jordan wrote.
Jordan quickly drew some public support from colleagues, including Rep. Darrell Issa, Calif., and Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky.
Known for his hard-charging, partisan approach to oversight and his ubiquitous shirtsleeves, Jordan is eager to do battle with Democrats and the White House.
His top rival, the Majority Leader Scalise, in his own letter to his colleagues, struck a very different tone than
“I firmly believe this Conference is a family,” wrote Scalise, who represents a Louisiana district.
