Headline Roundup October 5, 2023
Who Will Be the Next Speaker of the House?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Who will replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker of the House?
Details: With the current layout of Congress, there are two main pathways to win the speakership. The candidate will either have to win over nearly every House Republican or form a bipartisan coalition. In January, McCarthy chose the first option, and it took him 15 rounds of voting to finally achieve sufficient support from House Republicans to win the gavel. Despite his concessions to the more conservative members of his party, he was still ousted by a motion to vacate launched by a member of his party.
Candidates: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), the House majority leader, are both confirmed candidates for House Speaker. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who led the effort to oust McCarthy, has reportedly signaled support for Scalise. Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) is reportedly also voicing interest in the position.
Trump? Former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump is showing up on lists of potential speakers. While it’s never happened, the House Speaker does not technically have to be a member of Congress. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said Trump is “The only candidate for Speaker I am currently supporting.” But under House Republicans’ rules, Trump is barred from holding a leadership position on account of him facing indictments that could result in prison sentences of two or more years.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Now that California Rep. Kevin McCarthy has been removed as speaker of the House, the search is on for a successor who can unite divided Republicans.
On Tuesday, a total of eight Republicans joined all present Democrats in voting for a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) was appointed interim speaker as Republicans work to figure out who will lead their caucus, and the House, from here.
The historic removal was the result of a charge led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to strip McCarthy of...
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives began to position themselves on Wednesday to run for speaker, the day after a small group of hardliners succeeded in ousting Kevin McCarthy from the job in a historic first.
Here are some possible candidates:
IN: JIM JORDAN
Representative Jim Jordan, an ally of former President Donald Trump, was nominated by some Republican rebels to be the speaker during the election to the seat in January. He received 20 votes during one round of voting. He had also previously challenged McCarthy in a...
After a historic vote to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker, GOP lawmakers are scouring their conference to see who could replace the California Republican as the top House leader.
Lawmakers voted 216-210 to remove McCarthy from his position after eight Republicans joined all Democrats in a historic rebuke to GOP leadership, leaving the House at a standstill until lawmakers can elect a new speaker. McCarthy later announced he would not seek reelection as speaker, sending Republicans into a scramble to find a new party leader, with several names...
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