WASHINGTON — Republicans nominated Rep. Steve Scalise on Wednesday to be the next House speaker but now must try to unite their deeply divided majority to elect the conservative in a floor vote after ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the job.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of La., speaks to reporters as he arrives for a meeting of House Republicans to vote on candidates for Speaker of the House on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 in Washington. Stalemated over a new House speaker, the Republican majority is scheduled to convene behind closed doors to try to vote on a nominee. But lawmakers say Wednesday's private ballots to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy could take a while. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of La., speaks to reporters as he arrives for a meeting of House Republicans to vote on candidates for Speaker of the House on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 in Washington.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump.
Photos: Steve Scalise through the years
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., left, participates in a mock swearing-in with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, right, along with his wife Jennifer and their daughter Madison, on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Rep. Scalise fills the seat vacated by Bobby Jindal who was elected Governor of Louisiana. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)
Louisiana State Sen. Steve Scalise R-Jefferson, center, talks as he campaigns for the 1st Congressional District in New Orleans Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., holds an Associated Press photo taken by Charlie Riedel, of an oil covered pelican, the state bird of Louisiana, as he questions BP CEO Tony Hayward, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 17, 2010, during the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing on "the role of BP in the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and oil spill. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
From left, House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La., arrive for a Republican strategy session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014. Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, is poised to take charge of the House Ways and Means Committee as leaders are chosen for the new 114th Congress that convenes in January. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La. gestures as he speaks at the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., Friday, March 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
FILE — Incoming House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La., left, confers with then incoming House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 24, 2014, as they leave Republican National Committee headquarters following a news conference. Scalise has emerged as a leading contender to replace McCarthy who was voted out of the job by a contingent of hard-right conservatives. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La. displays a "Make America Great Again" hat while speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, after a House Republican leadership meeting. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., reacts after throwing out a ceremonial first pitch before Game 1 of baseball's National League Division Series between the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs, at Nationals Park, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., arrives to the House chamber before the vote for Speaker of the House on the opening day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of La., speaks to reporters as he arrives for a meeting of House Republicans to vote on candidates for Speaker of the House on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 in Washington. Stalemated over a new House speaker, the Republican majority is scheduled to convene behind closed doors to try to vote on a nominee. But lawmakers say Wednesday's private ballots to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy could take a while. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
These 8 Republicans stood apart to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker
Rep. Andy Biggs
REP. ANDY BIGGS
Biggs is serving his fourth term in the House representing a strongly Republican-leaning district in Arizona. He is a former chairman of the hardline House Freedom Caucus. He threw his hat into the ring in the race to become speaker back in January, but won only 10 votes in the first of 15 rounds of voting.
Biggs serves on two of the committees leading up the impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden and has long called for his impeachment. He also has been a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump and describes him as the leader of the Republican Party.
Biggs complained Tuesday that lawmakers were promised the House would pass 12 annual funding bills in a timely manner, but that wasn't accomplished before the end of the fiscal year, requiring a stopgap spending bill to avoid a shutdown. He said the annual spending bills are critical to cutting spending and getting rid of duplicative programs.
“Why didn't we get this stuff done?” he asked at one point in Tuesday's debate.
"Yes, I think it's time to make a change," Biggs said.
Rep. Ken Buck
REP. KEN BUCK
Buck is serving his fifth term representing a Colorado district that includes much of the eastern part of the state and some Denver suburbs. He's got a penchant for being a wildcard as a fiscal conservative, but also someone willing to push back against party leaders when he feels like it.
Most recently, Buck has spoken out against McCarthy's launch of an impeachment inquiry into Biden, saying that House Republicans itching for impeachment are relying on flimsy evidence.
He also has pointed to concerns about the process for approving spending and complained about stopgap spending bills like the one McCarthy came up with Saturday to keep the government running.
“We are $33 trillion in debt and on track to hit $50 trillion by 2030," he tweeted after the vote. "We cannot continue to fund the government by continuing resolutions and omnibus spending bills. That’s why I voted to oust @SpeakerMcCarthy. We must change course to sensible budgeting and save our country.”
Rep. Tim Burchett
REP. TIM BURCHETT
Burchett is serving his third term representing a district in east Tennessee. Burchett served 16 years in Tennessee’s legislature as well as eight years as a mayor before entering Congress.
He said while explaining his vote to oust McCarthy that the House took off the whole month of August despite knowing they needed to get the spending bills done before the fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
“At some point, we've just got to say enough is enough, folks,” he said in a Twitter video. “I hate losing Kevin as a friend, but I worry about losing our country.”
Rep. Eli Crane
REP. ELI CRANE
Crane represents an Arizona district. He is also a former Navy SEAL who served in the military for 13 years. In November, he defeated a Democratic incumbent, Tom O’Halleran, who had held the seat since 2017. He was the lone Republican freshman back in January to come out against McCarthy's bid to become speaker.
“Each time our majority has had the chance to fight for bold, lasting change for the American people, leadership folded and passed measures with more Democrat support than Republican,” Crane tweeted Tuesday.
Rep. Matt Gaetz
REP. MATT GAETZ
Gaetz is serving his fourth term representing a Florida district. He is a close Trump ally who filed the motion to vacate the chair, the procedure used to oust McCarthy, and he led the debate on the House floor for those seeking to pass the motion.
He was also a holdout in January when McCarthy ran to become speaker. The defining moment during that showdown came when Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican ally of McCarthy, angrily confronted Gaetz on the House floor before being pulled back by a colleague.
Gaetz could face political repercussions for his actions, as many Republican lawmakers blame him for this week's chaos and view him as looking out for himself rather than for the good of the party.
“Look, you all know Matt Gaetz. You know it was personal. It had nothing to do about spending," McCarthy said. “It all was about getting attention from you. I mean we were getting e-mail fundraisers as he's doing it.”
Gaetz said McCarthy didn't follow through on many of the commitments he made to win the speaker's job, and that's what drove him.
“Kevin McCarthy is a feature of the swamp. He has risen to power by collecting special interest money and redistributing that money in exchange for favors,” Gaetz said. “We are breaking the fever now, and we should elect a speaker who’s better.”
Rep. Bob Good
REP. BOB GOOD
Good of Virginia won office in 2020 after GOP voters ousted the Republican incumbent, Denver Riggleman, who had angered social conservatives by officiating a gay marriage.
Good said Tuesday that back in January he helped persuade a handful of colleagues to switch their votes to present so that McCarthy could become speaker.
But Good has been harshly critical of the deal to avoid a default and voiced alarm as Republicans prepared to ensure a partial government shutdown did not occur last weekend.
He said that if you're not willing to endure any kind of shutdown to get the changes you seek, “it’s a recipe to lose, it’s a recipe for surrender.”
“We need a speaker who will fight for something, anything, besides just staying or becoming speaker," Good said on the House floor Tuesday.
Rep. Nancy Mace
REP. NANCY MACE
Mace is serving her second term representing a South Carolina district. She graduated from The Citadel, where she was the first female to graduate from its Corps of Cadets. She served as a state representative before coming to Congress.
Mace tweeted her vote to oust McCarthy wasn't about ideology. “This is about trust and keeping your word. This is about making Congress do its job," she said.
McCarthy said he called Mace's chief of staff on Monday saying he didn't understand how he had not kept his word. He noted that he had helped get Mace elected to Congress.
Rep. Matt Rosendale
REP. MATT ROSENDALE
Rosendale is serving his second term in the House representing a Montana district. He's a hardliner on fiscal issues who also has voted against U.S. support for Ukraine in repelling Russia's invasion, citing what he said are more pressing security needs along the southern U.S. border.
“Our country is facing $33 trillion of debt. Our border is facing an unprecedented invasion. And instead of being energy dominant, we are now energy reliant. The House of Representatives and the American people deserve a leader who can challenge the status quo and put an end to this ruin," Rosendale said following Tuesday's vote.
Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.
