House recesses as Scalise looks to secure Speakership votes: Live coverage

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is a hard no against Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), but he failed to endorse another candidate for the Speakership in a late night statement.

“It’s just past 9:40pm and I have yet to hear from the Speaker-Designate. So I’ve made my decision and after 10 months and having had 0 contact or outreach from him, I’ve come to the conclusion that my VOTE doesn’t matter to him,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I’m now declaring I’m an ANYONE but Scalise and come hell or high water I won’t change my mind. We need a Speaker that leads by including every single member of the team not just some, That’s not leadership!” he added.

—Lauren Sforza

Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said that he is voting against the “status quo” when asked if he would back Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) during the House vote for the Speakership. 

“Well, I’m a firm no against the status quo. The Republican Party has not shown a willingness to fight, to use every weapon at our disposal to fight against the radical Biden agenda,” he said on NewsNation’s “The Hill” Wednesday. 

Good was one of the eight Republicans who sided with Democrats to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the Speakership last week. He also said that he was still supporting Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for Speaker in an earlier post on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, after the House GOP voted to nominate Scalise.

— Lauren Sforza

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said she plans to vote for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), the GOP nominee, when the Speaker vote comes to the House floor.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Luna said Scalise agreed to the conditions she laid out in a previous statement, including a commitment to defund special counsel Jack Smith’s probe of former President Trump, a subpoena for Hunter Biden, and a floor vote on impeaching President Biden.

“Just left a personal meeting with @SteveScalise. I am confident he is going to allow me to aggressively pursue the below items, which were some of my conditions for my vote,” she wrote in a post Wednesday, while reposting her statement from last Tuesday.

“I will be casting my vote along with @RepMattGaetz and @Jim_Jordan for @SteveScalise,” she said.

— Sarah Fortinsky

The office of the majority whip has advised members that no votes are expected in the House tonight, with more details to come on vote plans for Thursday.

Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) said he intends to vote for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for Speaker when the matter comes to the House floor for a vote, despite House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) clenching the GOP nomination in a conference vote Wednesday.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Smucker criticized Republicans for voting to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and then promoting other likeminded leaders.

“The House GOP Conference is broken. So we oust Kevin McCarthy and all other leaders are rewarded with promotions? How does that make sense or change anything?”

“We need to chart a different path forward. In the meantime, I plan to vote for Jim Jordan on the floor,” he said.

— Sarah Fortinsky

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) is running for House majority leader to replace Steve Scalise (R-La.), a spokesperson confirms.

That makes three candidates for the position so far: Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) announced a run earlier today, and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said last week that he was looking at moving up to majority leader if Scalise got the Speaker nomination.

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) made a public warning to those announcing bids for other positions Wednesday afternoon.

“Now is NOT the time to be campaigning for other leadership positions, House Republicans must work to unite to elect the Speaker – and that is my focus as Conference Chair at this important time,” Stefanik said in a tweet. 

— Emily Brooks

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said Wednesday she plans to vote for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to be the next Speaker when the matter is brought to the floor for a House vote.

“I would not. I plan on voting for Jim Jordan on the floor,” Mace said on CNN when asked whether she would have voted for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), the GOP nominee, had the House vote been held later that afternoon.

“I’ve been very vocal about this over the last couple of days: I personally cannot, in good conscience, vote for someone who attended a white supremacist conference and compared himself to David Duke,” she said. “I would be doing an enormous disservice to the voters that I represent in South Carolina if I were to do that.”

— Sarah Fortinsky

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is undecided on supporting GOP Speaker nominee Steve Scalise (R-La.).

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. We came out of our conference with 110 votes for Steve Scalise that he can take to the House Floor; he needs to 217 … There are a lot of members who are undecided – I’m one of them,” he told CNN.

Scalise got 113 votes in conference on Wednesday, but three of those are thought to be cast by Republican delegates from U.S. territories who can vote in conference but cannot vote on the House floor.

The Hill has confirmed that at least one delegate voted for Scalise.

— Emily Brooks

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), leaving Speaker suite, was asked how Speaker nominee Steve Scalise (R-La.) should deal with holdouts who don’t want to support him on the House floor.

McCarthy had to contend with 20 GOP holdouts that dragged his Speaker election out to 15 ballots.

“Steve’s going to have to talk to them all, see what the concerns are. But I’m supporting Steve,” McCarthy responded.

He said he has not been involved in the conversations in the Speaker suite.

— Emily Brooks

Here’s who hasn’t committed to supporting Scalise

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) left a meeting in the Speaker’s office appearing unmoved about not supporting GOP nominee Steve Scalise (R-La.) on the floor for Speaker. She had tweeted she would support Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

“I’m ready to vote for Chip Roy as Speaker, y’all. Like, I’m ready for somebody who’s gonna throw down and not care who’s in the way. I am tired of the politics that are played in this chamber,” she said.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) celebrated the House GOP’s nomination of Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) for Speaker on Wednesday.

“I’m excited for him,” Gaetz told reporters. “I can’t wait to go vote for Steve Scalise. Long live Speaker Scalise.”

Gaetz previously said he would be pleased with either Scalise or House Judicial Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as the nominee for Speaker. However, he didn’t officially endorse either contender prior to the internal GOP election.

“I want to hear both of their specific plans on spending and on single-subject appropriations bills,” Gaetz said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” 

Gaetz led the effort to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

— Tara Suter

Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said he would support Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for Speaker on the House floor.

He wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that he supported Jordan’s nomination in the GOP election and “I am still supporting Jordan.”

“The country cannot afford the status quo,” he said.

Good was one of eight Republicans who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

Immediately after the vote he said he didn’t know if he would support GOP Speaker nominee Steve Scalise (R-La.).

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) plans to vote for Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) on the floor and is encouraging his colleagues to do the same, per a source with direct knowledge.

— Emily Brooks

House Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) quickly called the chamber to recess after gaveling in.

“The Speaker designee has the right to put his votes together for the floor and make sure the timing is right, so we’re gonna let that happen,” he said.

Asked if the House is recessing because Scalise doesn’t have the votes to become Speaker, McHenry deflects: “We’re in an unprecedented moment. This is the fastest Speaker’s election in modern history.”

— Mychael Schnell

Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.) said he still plans to vote for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for the Speakership on the House floor – despite McCarthy telling colleagues on Tuesday not to nominate him for the role.

Giménez told reporters that he plans on voting for McCarthy, until the former Speaker himself approaches him and tells him to support GOP nominee Steve Scalise (R-La.).

“I’ve always said I’m a McCarthy guy,” Giménez said when asked whether he would support Scalise. “So until he says, ‘Hey, don’t vote for anybody else,’ until he comes to me and says that to me, I’m voting for Kevin McCarthy.”

— Sarah Fortinsky

The House is not expected to vote on a Speaker today, despite Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) clinching the GOP nomination for the top spot this afternoon.

The House will come in at 3pm and recess, according to a source familiar.

— Mychael Schnell

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said in a social media post that she would still be giving her Speaker vote to Rep. Jim Jordan.

“I just voted for Jim Jordan for Speaker on a private ballot in conference, and I will be voting for Jim Jordan on the House floor,” she said on X, formerly Twitter.

She cited a need for a leadership team that would address the border, “protect our kids,” stop funding Ukraine and “stop the weaponized government and hold them accountable.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), the GOP nominee for Speaker, said his first move as Speaker would be to pass the bipartisan resolution expressing the United States’ support for Israel.

“Our first resolution that we pass under Speaker Steve Scalise will be to make it clear that we stand with Israel. The McCaul-Meeks resolution will be our first order of business,” Scalise said, referring to the resolution backed by the top Republican and top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.).

“We have a lot of work to do. Not just in the House for the people of this country, but we see how dangerous of a world it is and how things can change so quickly. We need to make sure we’re sending a message to people all throughout the world, that the House is open and doing the people’s business,” Scalise said.

— Sarah Fortinsky

A spokesperson for Rep. Jim Jordan says he is headed to the Capitol, where a Speaker could happen within the hour.

And Jordan has offered to give a nominating speech on Scalise’s behalf.

— Emily Brooks

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said it’s time to open the House again, in his first remarks after winning the GOP nomination for Speaker.

“I want to thank my House Republican colleagues for just designating me as the Speaker,” Scalise said. “Obviously, we still have work to do. We’re going to have to go upstairs on the House floor and resolve this, and then get the House opened again.”

The House has been at a standstill after an historic vote last week ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the top position. Congress faces a looming shutdown deadline of Nov. 17 and faces pressure to pass aid for Ukraine and Israel.

“The conversations we’ve been having with my colleagues over the last few days leading up to this show that there’s a resolve that we need to get back to work. There’s a lot of business to take care of,” he added.

— Sarah Fortinsky

Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) both said Wednesday they would not support GOP Speaker nominee Steve Scalise (R-La.) on the House floor.

“Surprises are for little kids at birthday parties, not Congress. So, I let Scalise know in person that he doesn’t have my vote on the floor, because he has not articulated a viable plan for avoiding an omnibus,” Massie wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Boebert said she would vote for Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

“The American people deserve a real change in leadership, not a continuation of the status quo,” she wrote on X.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) declined to say whether he would back Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) as Speaker after a majority of Republicans voted to nominate him for the role.

Jordan gave the same answer to multiple questions after trailing Scalise by about a dozen votes in the internal GOP nominating contest.

“The conference is divided right now. I hope that we can come together,” Jordan said.

The vote for a Speaker could come in as soon as a few hours.

— Rebecca Beitsch

Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) says he will support GOP Speaker nominee Steve Scalise (R-La.) on the House floor.

Rosendale is the only one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to publicly throw his support to Scalise.

— Aris Folley

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo) said he was undecided on whether he would support the GOP nominee for Speaker, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Colo.), when the vote comes to the House floor.

“I’m going to have a conversation with Steve. I don’t know yet,” he said when asked how he would vote.

Buck, who was one of eight Republican members who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), outlined the three issues he plans to discuss with Scalise.

“I have three issues. One is the certifying the election. The second is putting a Ukraine vote on the floor. And the third is picking a number for appropriations,” he said.

“I think that’s something that we should handle in there,” he said when asked whether he needs a commitment on a top-line number. ”Because we’re going to have the same problem all over again. There’s going to be a significant portion of the conference that’s going to be upset if we don’t have a number.”

— Sarah Fortinsky

Republican lawmakers tell The Hill the House could vote on a Speaker as soon as 3 p.m., though the timing is not set in stone.

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) would not say whether they would support the GOP nominee for Speaker, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), when the vote comes to the House floor.

“We’ll see,” Greene said, after pausing for a moment.

“We got to hear more of a plan,” she added, when asked whether she was open to Scalise.

Bishop said no comment when asked whether he would support Scalise.

— Sarah Fortinsky

Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) said he would not vote for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) on the House floor, when asked before the final tally revealed Scalise won the majority of the votes.

“No,” Miller said when asked whether he would support Scalise if he won the vote. Miller said he voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for the Speaker nomination.

“I’m not switching my vote. I’m with Jordan all the way, until Jim Jordan says he’s not running for speaker.  And I believe, as of yesterday, he said that he has no intention of backing out of the race. So why would I switch my vote?”

— Sarah Fortinsky

Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), when asked if he’ll support GOP Speaker nominee Steve Scalise (R-La.) on the floor, responded “I don’t know.”

Asked if he’s open to Scalise, he said “I’m not sure.”

He supported Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for the GOP nomination.

Good is one of eight Republicans who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

— Mychael Schnell

Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) expressed frustration on Wednesday that the GOP conference voted against a proposal that would have required consensus among House Republicans before their Speaker nominee came to the floor for a full House vote.

“I didn’t like it,” Miller said of the GOP vote against the rule change. “I wanted it to be to 217 out of conference.”

“I believe we should only go to the floor when the conference has 217 because I don’t have a crystal ball in front of me,” he continued, “but I could probably tell you what’s going to happen later today or tomorrow, or whenever they’re going to put us on the floor, is that both these guys aren’t going to get the votes, and it’s upsetting.”

Miller, who supported Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), said he has no intention of switching his vote at any point, and while he understands that means it might take longer to elect a speaker, “Leadership has consequences.”

“If we don’t put the right people in place that are going to do the right things, then how do you think the policy will change that’s going to affect everyone around us and our allies? I think all those questions have to be answered.”