Oct. 4 (UPI) — Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Steve Scalise of Louisiana said Wednesday they are running to be the next speaker of the House after Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted Tuesday by a small group of far-right Republicans.
On Wednesday, Jordan said in his letter posted on the social media platform X that House Republicans need to come together to focus on the changes that improve the country and to unite in offering real solutions.
“But no matter what we do, we must do it together as a conference. I respectfully ask for your support for Speaker of the House of Representatives,” Jordan wrote.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., also said on X Wednesday that he is running for speaker.
Scalise said in his own “dear colleagues letter” that Republicans must mend the deep wounds that exist within their own conference in the House.
“It is with that sense of responsibility and purpose that I am seeking the Conference’s nomination for Speaker of the House,” Scalise wrote.
Jordan, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, defied a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee investigating the violent 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol that temporarily halted the peaceful transfer of presidential power.
The House speaker is a U.S. constitutional officer second in line to the presidency after the vice president.
As Jordan announced his bid to be House speaker, Texas GOP Rep. Troy Nehls said he intends to nominate former president Trump as speaker.
Trump currently faces criminal charges alleging that he conspired to illegally overturn the will of the voters in the 2020 presidential election in an “unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy” according to Special Counsel Jack Smith.
He’s also charged with felonies for retaining and refusing to return classified documents and was found liable by New York Supreme Court Justice Harold Engoron for massive business fraud for systematically inflating the value of his properties.
Despite these felony indictments, GOP Rep. Greg Steube of Florida said on X that he also backs Trump to become House Speaker.
McCarthy said he will not seek the position again.
