House set to go another day without a Speaker vote – live updates

Many Republicans are frustrated at the holdouts.

“My message to them is the same as those who are holding off McCarthy, unify behind our conference candidate,” Rep Ashley Hinson (R-IA), told The Independent. “We need to get back to work because it’s certainly the American people who suffer. It’s not the politicians playing games here.”

The House was set to hold a vote for speaker on Wednesday but members left after it was clear Mr Scalise did not have the votes. But Ms Greene said she was not concerned about the process being drawn out.

“I think we should get to the House floor and do the votes. Kevin McCarthy had to go 15 rounds,” she said. “The next one maybe needs to go 15 or more and I’m all game for it.”

At least Steve Scalise didn’t start measuring the drapes in the speaker’s office.

As of Thursday afternoon, the House Republican conference appears far from picking a speaker of the House, nine days after the motion to vacate that deposed Kevin McCarthy.

Republicans spent much of the first part of Thursday in the basement of the Capitol once again deliberating about whether to promote Mr Scalise from House majority leader to speaker. If that sounds familiar, it’s because they spent much of Wednesday in the Longworth House Office Building before they nominated Mr Scalise.

That did little to assuage frustration, particularly from many supporters of Rep Jim Jordan (R-OH). But all of the discontent – both from opponents and supporters – seems to betray the fact that nobody really knows why they are doing what they are doing or how exactly how to do it. Rather, conversations with members gives the impression that Republicans are winging it.

Perhaps the angriest, and loudest, voice in the House GOP conference right now is Rep Chip Roy (R-TX). A member of the House Freedom Caucus who initially opposed Mr McCarthy before he flipped his vote in January, he had initially proposed an amendment that would require that any nominee receive 217 of the 221 votes in the conference. Republicans tabled the motion, which enraged Mr Roy.

Rep Chip Roy was one of the initial opponents of former speaker Kevin McCarthy who later flipped his vote and opposed a motion to vacate last week.

But even supporters of Mr McCarthy in January – when Mr McCarthy won the speaker’s gavel – now have concerns about Mr Scalise, who serves as House majority leader. Rep Brian Mast, who supported Mr McCarthy and vehemently criticised holdouts in January, said that he shared many of the concerns of his colleagues.

“I wouldn’t vote for any member of our current leadership,” he told The Independent. “Because they’re not leading right now.”

Rep Thomas Massie (R-KY), who also supported Mr McCarthy, said he continues to back Mr Jordan and criticised Mr Scalise.

“He hasn’t given us a plan to get past the spending bills actually,” he told The Independent. House Republicans generally oppose passing an “omnibus” spending bill which puts all 12 spending bills for the fiscal year into a single piece of legislation.

Republicans had hoped to pass single pieces of legislation before the end of the fiscal year last month, but after negotiations failed, Mr McCarthy passed a continuing resolution to keep the government open for 48 days.

Mr Massie said he preferred Mr Jordan’s leadership style.

“It’s more of a meritocracy on these committees instead of fundraising-tocracy are some of the ways this place is broken,” he said. He added that voters back in Kentucky preferred Mr Jordan. “Like 10 to one in my district, they’re for Jordan.”

Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), repeated her concerns to reporters that Mr Scalise has myeloma, a type of cancer in the plasma cells.

“I like him so much, I want to see him beat cancer,” she told The Independent. “My father died from cancer. It’s a serious battle. But our country we have many issues right now and I want the strongest, healthiest Speaker of the House.”

Melanie Zanona of CNN wrote on Thursday that “Scalise failed to move the needle after a 2+ hour meeting”

“Now he’s meeting with holdouts & others in office,” she added, noting that there are “serious doubts about a floor vote today or tomorrow” and that members are beginning to discuss a possible plan B.

She noted that they may need to draft a new candidate or grant more power to the temporary speaker, Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.

Republican opponents of making Steve Scalise speaker of the House dug their heels in on Thursday before the House was set to vote for a new leader.

The House Republican Conference met in the basement of the US Capitol on Thursday to continue their deliberations after they had spent most of Wednesday morning in the Longworth House Office Building nominating Mr Scalise.

But many Republicans who supported Rep Jim Jordan (R-OH), a hardline conservative and chairman of the House Judiciary Chairman, remain dissatisfied with Mr Scalise as the nominee for speaker.

Rep Chip Roy (R-TX), a member of the House Freedom Caucus which Mr Jordan co-founded, criticised the process on Thursday after Republicans tabled an amendment of his that would have required any Republican nominee for speaker to have the support of 217 of 221 members. Mr Roy told reporters the process was “one of the swampier things” he’d seen, mentioning how leaders invoked K Street, the famous lobbying corridor of Washington DC.

“Many of us who can do our own whip count knew that the votes weren’t there,” he told reporters. “So let’s figure this out. And they tried to steamroll it. And that’s not a good direction to go. So I’m not there.”

Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News wrote on X on Thursday that “the House Republican Conference is a mess. Complete and utter mess.”

“They are no closer to picking a speaker. They are a month away from a shutdown. Israel is asking for aid, which needs to pass in the next few weeks. They are completely lost. And have no idea how they will get out,” he added.

It remains unclear if the House will vote on a speaker today.

Whip Tom Emmer was asked if there will be votes, he said, “I don’t know that. They’re working through some stuff,” according to Politico.

Steve Scalise told reporters, “we’re going to continue to have conversations with the members”.

Rep Jim McGovern (D-Mass) has said that the House can’t pass legislation, and cannot aid Israel, until the GOP can elect a new speaker.

“What they can do is, they could is they could vote to elect [acting Speaker Patrick] McHenry or whoever speaker pro tem for a time certain and then you could get some stuff done, but as the acting speaker pro tem, no, we can’t move anything substantial,” the ranking member of the Rules Committee told Politico.

He added that he has no idea what the timeline is for getting a new speaker.

“The right-wing is fighting with the extreme right-wing,” he said.

The far-right network Newsmax reported on Thursday that Mr Scalise can’t get the 217 votes he needs on the Gouse floor and that he’s expected to withdraw his nomination.

“Now Newsmax is reporting that Steve Scalise is going to drop out and other people are jumping in. These people can’t get the most basic things accomplished,” Ron Filipkowski wrote on X.

“Observing the House GOP electing a Speaker is like watching a monkey trying to hump a football,” Lincoln Project adviser Jeff Timmer added.

Jim Jordan pushed for his supporters to to “come together behind” Steve Scalise as he entered a GOP meeting on Thursday.

“I told [Scalise] I’m willing to nominate him on the floor,” Mr Jordan said, according to Punchbowl News.

This comes after Keith Self of Texas wrote on X on Thursday: “While I had hoped to support the Republican Conference nominee for Speaker, it has become evident that all the agreements and Rules with the former Speaker are null and void.”

“In January, we held the line for a Rules package that restores power back to the people. We need a leader with the same resolve. Therefore, I will be casting my vote on the House Floor for Jim Jordan,” he added.