Scalise drops out of race for speaker of the House, leaving Congress in limbo

October 12th, 2023

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of La., talks to reporters as he announces he is ending his campaign to be the next House speaker after a Republican meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Jose Luis Magana / Jose Luis Magana

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., has dropped out of the race to become the new House Speaker, after failing to secure enough support for his bid to succeed on the floor.

“I was very clear we have to have everybody put their agendas on the side and focus on what this country needs,” Scalise told reporters in the Capitol. “This country is counting on us to come back to this House of Representatives needs a speaker and we need to open up the House again.”

Scalise informed House Republicans of his plans during a closed-door meeting in the basement of the Capitol.

Scalise, the current Republican majority leader, won a narrow majority of the conference in a closed-door, secret ballot election Wednesday. By a vote of 110-99, Scalise defeated Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, but was far short of the votes needed to win a majority of the full House: 217 if all current members are present and voting.

He spent days meeting with holdouts to try and assuage their concerns, but his path to 217 remained murky.

With no speaker, and no Republican nominee for speaker, the House remains frozen as war rages between Israel and Hamas and a government funding deadline looms on Nov. 17.

The path forward for choosing another Speaker candidate is far from clear.