US House Republicans try again to pick new leader

WASHINGTON: Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Friday aimed to pick another candidate to lead the chamber, though it was unclear whether any would be able to surmount the internal divisions that led heir apparent Steve Scalise to abandon his bid.

Republican infighting has left the House paralyzed for 10 days, as lawmakers have deadlocked over a successor to Kevin McCarthy, who was forced out by a small group of Republican insurgents on Oct. 3. Party lawmakers were due to hear from candidates Republicans at 1 p.m. ET (1700 GMT), with a possible closed-door nominating vote to follow.

Hardline conservative Jim Jordan said he would seek the gavel, after narrowly losing to Scalise in a nominating vote on Wednesday. But he faced skepticism from Scalise allies, who were angry that lawmakers had failed to unite behind his bid.

“I think I can unite the conference, I think I can tell the country what we’re doing and why it matters,” said Jordan, who tormented Republican leaders for years as a vocal advocate for the party’s right wing.

Other possible candidates include McCarthy, Representative Patrick McHenry, who now holds the job on a temporary basis, and Representatives Kevin Hern and Tom Cole, lawmakers said. Punchbowl News reported that Representative Austin Scott also was in the running. McCarthy said he was resisting efforts to return him to the job.

“No, let’s not do that. Let’s walk through this and have an election,” he told reporters. He said he thought Jordan had enough support to win.

A successful candidate would need to secure 217 votes from the splintered 221-212 Republican majority to win the job, which Scalise was unable to do even though he has held the No. 2 leadership job for years.

Republicans considered and rejected a rule that would require any nominee to lock up 217 of their votes before moving to a public vote on the House floor.

Without a speaker, the House is at a deadlock as war expands in the Middle East, Russia continues to pound Ukraine and the government faces a Nov. 17 partial shutdown deadline without additional funding from Congress.