by Nicholas Ballasy
The House GOP conference held its second election for House speaker on Friday between Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Austin Scott, R-Ga.
Jordan came out on top 124-81. He needs a simple majority, which is currently 217, on the House floor to become speaker.
Some lawmakers are not present at the U.S. Capitol given that votes are frozen until a speaker is elected. The conference is now holding a test vote to find out how much support Jordan will have from Republican members on the House floor. It is unclear if a floor vote will be scheduled for Friday evening.
Scott declared his intention to run for speaker on Friday, according to a source close to the process and later confirmed by the lawmaker on X, formerly Twitter.
The conference later held a speaker candidate forum in the afternoon.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise dropped out of the speaker race on Thursday night after winning the nomination because he lacked the 217 votes needed to win on the House floor. Jordan received 99 votes in the first speaker election, compared to 113 for Scalise.
– – –
Nicholas Ballasy has been breaking news for more than a decade in the nation’s capital and questioning political leaders about the most pressing issues facing the nation.
Photo “Rep. Jim Jordan” by Rep. Jim Jordan.
