Scalise Drops Out Of Speaker’s Race

The House Republicans’ nominee for speaker, Steve Scalise, has withdrawn his name from consideration.

The New York Times has more on the latest updates involving the Louisiana congressman:

Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana on Thursday withdrew from consideration for the speakership he was on the cusp of claiming after hard-line Republicans balked at rallying around their party’s chosen candidate, leaving the House leaderless and the G.O.P. in chaos.

After being narrowly nominated for speaker during a Tuesday closed-door secret-ballot contest among House Republicans, Mr. Scalise, their No. 2 leader, found himself far from the 217 votes needed to be elected on the House floor. Many supporters of his challenger, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the right-wing Republican endorsed by former President Donald J. Trump, refused to switch their allegiance.

With no clear end in sight to the G.O.P. infighting that has left one chamber of Congress paralyzed at a time of challenges at home and abroad, Mr. Scalise said he would step aside in hopes that someone else could unite the fractious party.

His abrupt exit left Republicans back at Square 1, as fractured as ever over who should lead them and trading recriminations about the disarray in which they found themselves.

Former President Trump expressed concern about Scalise’s ability to perform his job while battling cancer earlier on Thursday. Appearing on Brian Kilmeade’s Fox radio show, Trump ominously warned that Scalise is in “serious trouble, from the standpoint of his cancer.”

“I just don’t know how you can do the job when you have such a serious problem,” he added.

Despite his seniority, the number two House Republican couldn’t find a path to the speaker’s gavel.

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