Rep. Steve Scalise, who secured the GOP nomination to be the next House speaker, officially resigned Thursday after falling brief of the 217 votes required to take the gavel in the House.
At this point, any Republican nominee will have a challenging time because they can only afford to lose four GOP votes – something President Trump even acknowledged in a conversation with Republican Jim Jordan, whom he endorsed for the job.
But now it looks like the Ohio Republican will face competition from a seven-term legislator most have probably never heard of.
On Friday, Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia announced he would run.
“I volunteered to be Speaker of the House,” he said on Program X. “We are in Washington to make laws, and I want to lead a House that will act in the best interests of the American people.”
I applied to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. We are in Washington to legislate, and I want to lead a House that acts in the best interests of the American people.
— Rep. Austin Scott (@AustinScottGA08) October 13, 2023
B) Scott: But I believe that if we Republicans are the majority, we have to do the right thing, the right way. And we’re not doing that right now.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 13, 2023
However, he probably faces an even tougher fight than Jordan.
Q: “Mr. Donalds, are you going to vote for Austin Scott?”
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL): “No.” pic.twitter.com/OISUaoDZ9x
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 13, 2023
The next vote is already here
Jim Jordan vs. Austin Scott
I vote for JORDANA
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) October 13, 2023
Jim Jordan for speaker!
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) October 13, 2023
Steve Scalise dropped out of the Speaker race today. It’s time to elect Jim Jordan as Speaker of the House of Representatives. America agrees. pic.twitter.com/FZdZuz2Mir
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) October 13, 2023
For his part, Jordan was confident on Friday.
“I think I can unite the conference; “I think I can go and tell the whole country what we’re doing and why it’s important to them, and we’ll talk about it,” he told reporters. “I think it’s significant that the House is open and up and running as quickly as possible. “
