After losing his job as House Speaker Oct. 3, 58-year-old Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) watched his fellow Republicans pick 57-year-old House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) over 59-year-old Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to represent the GOP as the next House Speaker. Scalise’s nomination will be put to a floor vote tonight, with all Democrats expected to vote for 52-year-old Houose Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Republicans blame 41-year Rep. Matt Gaetz for calling for a vote to vacate seeking to remove McCarthy for working across the aisle on a stopgap bill to prevent the Oct. 1 government shuttdown. Gaetz voted with seven other members of the conservative Freedom Caucus to remove McCarthy as House Speaker. Many Republicans remain bitter over Gaetz’s motion to vacate, presenting problems for Scalise when it comes to a floor vote.
Republican still angry at Gaetz should look at the House Democrat caucus that all voted Oct. 3 to remove McCarthy, not because they wanted to but because that’s what Jeffries asked them to do. Many House Democrats liked McCarthy and would have preferred to vote to keep him in power. But Jeffiries, a very partisan Minority Leader, wanted the House to show unity over McCarthy’s removal. When you consider that McCarthy worked feverishly with Democrat to prevent the Oct. 1 government shutdown, you’d think some of them would have voted their conscience to keep McCarthy in power. Yet the entire House Democrat caucus voted to oust McCarthy because Jeffries thought it would do maximum harm to the Republcian conference. Jeffries looks at the end game of the 2024 election, where anything he can do now to embarrass Republicans helps his chances of getting back the majority.
House Republicans voting on the floor today for a new speaker need to remind themselves that Democrats, not Gaetz, were responsible for removing McCarthy. Had only a handful of Democrats voted for McCarthy, he would have retained his Speaker’s post. But no, Jefrries followed the advise of 78-year-old Democrat operative James Carville to heap maximum damage on the Republican Party. Showing unity in their vote for Scalise is the best way to restore GOP credibility, showing they can lead the House. With the war in Israel escalating, the Congress must have a speaker to advance new funding to defend Israel and U.S. interests. Scalise won the House vote because some members of the House GOP don’t want 77-year-old President Donald Trump controlling Republicans in Congress. Jordan thought he was a shoe-in when Trump endorsed Jordam Oct. 6.
House Republicans voted for Scalise 109-99, in a somewhat close vote but not when you consider the common sense of picking Scalise over Jordan. Endorsed by Trump, how was 80-year-old President Joe Biden and other House and Senate Democrats supposed to work with Jordan while he’s tried to impeach the president? With intense budget negotiations coming up soon, Republicans desperately need a House Speaker capable of working on both sides of the aisle. Biden knows that Jordan is one of the original founders of the Freedom Caucus, a thorn in Biden’s side. Unlike Scalise, Jordan opposes more spending on Ukraine, something out of step with mainstream Republicans, but, more importantly, Biden. So to get a budget before another government shutdown, the House Speaker would have to accept Biden’s spending priorities, especially the Ukraine War.
After losing the vote behind closed doors, Jordan said he would deliver on the House floor a full endorsement of Scalise, trying to show Party unity. Scalise sold himself to the GOP caucus as the one most likely to work across the aisle and get things done. “I’ve got a long history of bring people together, uniting Republicans, focusing on the issue that we’ve got to do to address the issues we came here to do to get our country back on track,” Scalise said. Some Republicans like Rep Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) expressed reservations due Scalise’s diagnosis in Aug. of multiple myeloma, a treatable blood cancer. “I was honest with Scalise. I think his health is any issue. I don’t want somebody that is gonna deteriorate in the job,” Norman said. Others, like Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Tx.) accepted Scalise’s wife Jennifer who said her husband was phycically fit enough for the job.
When Scalise was shot and seriously wounded a Congressional baseball practice June 14, 2017, he was nearly left for dead. After a long rehab, Scalise bounced back, though he walks with a cane. Medical concerns aside, Republicans have to many concerns about unity to ignore that fact times is running out on the GOP conference. Whatever lingering misgiving due to McCarthy’s ouster, Republicans must get over it and move on to confirm Scalise. Voters are looking carefully at Republicans, especially now because of the new Mideast war that promises a challenge to U.S. foreign policy. Without a seated House Speaker, Congress is paralyzed to authorize the funding needed to protect U.S. national security. After McCarthy’s ouster, Republicans must fix the problems for pay a price in the polls. Time for bickering has come to an end, requiring the GOP to fix the problem.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
