Breaking down the brewing battle between Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.
The jockeying to replace Kevin McCarthy as House speaker is in full force on Capitol Hill, with Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) declaring their candidacies for the post. Here’s a look at the strengths and weaknesses each GOP titan brings to the fight:
Greatest Strengths: Relationships, personality and story. When it comes to leadership races, Team Scalise is battle-tested and has been ready for this moment for years. The Louisiana Republican pulled off a coup when he ran for majority whip several years ago, vanquishing then-Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), who had a lead many thought was insurmountable.
Always smiling and quick to joke, Scalise is the type of politician you end up drinking too much wine with at a steakhouse. He’s a sympathetic figure, too: a father of two; a survivor of a shooting that nearly killed him; a man who is, at this moment, battling blood cancer and undergoing chemo while still working in Washington.
He’s well-liked, and while his own politics lean toward the right end of the spectrum, he has close relationships with centrists and moderates by virtue of both his personality, his former role as whip and his prodigious fundraising efforts. Over the past decade, he’s brought in $170 million to support Republican candidates.
Biggest Weakness: Old feuds. Despite being generally well liked, Scalise has a few foes he’s going to have to contend with — and they’re not named Jim Jordan.
Semafor reported Wednesday that aides to McCarthy have been calling lawmakers on behalf of Jordan’s speakership bid. And yesterday, Rep. Garret Graves, a close McCarthy ally, appeared to swipe at the idea of his fellow Louisiana Republican moving up the ladder.
Those who’ve covered McCarthy and Scalise know there’s no love lost between the two men — or their staffs, for that matter.
