Well, the saga continues for the GOP as they have finally chosen who they want to be the next House Speaker.

In a vote of 113 to 99, Steve Scalise edged out Jim Jordan for the nomination.

The reaction from republicans is a mixed bag.

Many are concerned that having Scalise as the House speaker will be a lateral move from ex-speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Somehow, Scalise now has to unite the entire party behind his leadership capabilities.

He can only afford to lose four GOP votes if he hopes to take the job.

Things are not looking entirely optimistic that this will be resolved quickly.

The Associated Press broke the news:

Republicans nominated Rep. Steve Scalise on Wednesday to be the next House speaker but struggled to quickly unite their deeply divided majority and elect the conservative in a public floor vote after the historic ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the job.

In private balloting at the Capitol, House Republicans narrowly pushed aside Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the firebrand Judiciary Committee chairman, in favor of Scalise, the current majority leader. The Louisiana congressman, who is battling blood cancer, is seen as a hero to some after surviving a shooting on lawmakers at a congressional baseball game practice in 2017.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Scalise said afterward.

The reaction from republicans has been mixed to say the very least…

Many fear that Scalise may just be Kevin McCarthy version 2.0.

Though Scalise was nominated, it remains unclear if he can manage enough votes for the job.

CNN has more on that:

Scalise won out over Rep. Jim Jordan in a vote by the House GOP conference on Wednesday to pick their speaker nominee. The outcome of the nomination vote was a blow to former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee who has made a name for himself as a staunch Trump ally.

The question now is whether Scalise will be able to win over Republican holdouts, a major obstacle in his path to the gavel. House Republicans hold a narrow majority and Scalise can only afford to lose four GOP votes on the floor and still win the speakership.

McCarthy’s ouster, which was driven by a group of hardline conservatives, has intensified deep divisions within the House GOP conference and led to an escalation of tensions that now threaten to make it even more challenging for Republicans to unite behind a new speaker.

This could end up being a long process.

 

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