Well over twenty House Republicans from across the ideological spectrum are against Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and will not vote for him on the floor, a source with knowledge told Breitbart News.
Scalise won the nomination for Speaker in a closed door meeting Wednesday, receiving 113 votes. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) received 99 votes, and others voted present or for other candidates.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary, speaks during an oversight hearing with FBI Director Christopher Wray, Wednesday, July 12, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Scalise’s total was inflated by non-voting delegates who are not permitted to vote on the House floor. He received only 110 of 221 eligible Republican votes, less than half.
Scalise now somehow must gain the support of an overwhelming number of those who did not back him, but the number who have already come out against him is more than enough to sink his nomination.
Among those who have confirmed they will vote the floor for Jordan are Reps. Max Miller (R-OH), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Barry Moore (R-AL), Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Lauren Boebert (R-CO).
Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-FL) will vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Surprises are for little kids at birthday parties, not Congress. So, I let Scalise know in person that he doesn’t have my vote on the floor, because he has not articulated a viable plan for avoiding an omnibus.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) October 11, 2023
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) and Mike Turner (R-OH) have both indicated they are undecided.
HOUSE INTEL CHAIR MIKE TURNER tells @jaketapper he’s undecided on voting for scalise.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 11, 2023
Turner: He came out with 110 votes; he needs 217. He's going to have to give us a message or an understanding of how he's going to bridge that gap and make certain that he brings Congress…
Mace told CNN she cannot in good conscience vote for someone who attended a white supremacist conference and compared himself to David Duke.
Scalise reportedly once compared himself to the ex-Ku Klux Klan grand wizard, saying he is “David Duke without the baggage.”
The Louisianan also attended a white supremacist conference in 2002, although he later apologized, claiming he accepted the invitation without knowing about the group and spoke out strongly against its ideology.
Scalise quickly scheduled a vote on the House floor to take place only an hour and a half after securing the nomination, despite lacking the votes to win.
By rushing the vote to the floor without adequate support, Scalise showed a willingness to once again hash out Republican division on the floor – a nightmare January replay for many Republicans.
He later delayed the vote, but many of his colleagues were displeased by the rush.
Taking the vote to the floor before 217 Republicans were ready to back him would mean Scalise is betting that pressure on his detractors from the mainstream media would eventually cause them to fold, securing him the nomination despite the public spectacle. That outcome would be far from certain.
Follow Bradley Jaye on Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
