By David Morgan and Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives met behind closed doors on Thursday to try to resolve divisions that have prevented them from installing Steve Scalise as speaker of the chamber, which has been leaderless for more than a week.
Currently the No. 2 House Republican, Scalise secured his party’s nomination to replace ousted speaker Kevin McCarthy but was short of the 217 votes needed to win the job as several of his fellow Republicans said they would not back him on the House floor.
Scalise’s bid appeared to be headed in the wrong direction on Thursday. As Republicans gathered to weigh their options, several said they would stick with rival Jim Jordan, who lost to Scalise in a secret-ballot vote on Wednesday. Republicans can afford no more than four defections as they control the House by a narrow 221-212 margin.
McCarthy, who was deposed by a small group of Republican on Oct. 3, told reporters that Scalise had a “big hill” to get to 217 votes. “He told a lot of people he was going to be at 150 (votes) and he wasn’t there,” McCarthy said.
The Republican infighting has left the chamber unable to act to support Israel’s war against Palestinian militants of Hamas and restart government funding legislation while Congress neared a new shutdown deadline on Nov. 17.
McCarthy was ousted after he reached a deal with Democrats to avoid the nation’s fourth partial government shutdown in a decade.
Jordan has encouraged his supporters to vote for Scalise, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
But some said they would not bend. “While this process will take more time, it is essential that we fight to get this decision right,” said Representative Andrew Clyde, a Jordan backer.
‘DOES NOT LOOK GOOD’
While McCarthy was the first speaker to be removed in a formal vote, the last two Republicans to hold the job wound up leaving under pressure from party hardliners.
“Clearly, this does not look good for the House or for the country,” Representative Dusty Johnson, a Republican, told reporters.
Democrats have backed their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, in past speaker votes and are expected to do so again. One Democratic leadership aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they could support a bipartisan compromise but have not yet been approached by Republicans.
Republicans are determined to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing spectacle that occurred in January, when hardline conservatives forced McCarthy to endure 15 floor votes over four days before winning the gavel.
Scalise, 58, gained near legendary status within Republican circles by surviving a severe gunshot wound after a gunman opened fire during practice for a charity baseball game in 2017. He also commands widespread respect as a veteran legislator, who has spent years in party leadership positions.
But Scalise also faces new health concerns as he undergoes treatment for multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, which some Jordan supporters cited as a reason not to vote for him.
“I like Steve Scalise, and I like him so much that I want to see him defeat cancer more than sacrifice his health in the most difficult position in Congress,” Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who backs Jordan, said on the social platform X.
Jordan was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and appeared to be the favorite of populist minded hardliners.
Trump in an interview with Fox News Radio on Thursday said he did not object to Scalise as speaker.
“Steve is a man that is in serious trouble from the standpoint of his cancer. I mean, he’s got to get better for himself,” Trump said.
Before his nomination, Scalise and his allies worked to defeat a closed-door effort to require a candidate to win 217 Republican votes to become the nominee. His success at defeating the move made some Jordan supporters unhappy.
(Reporting by David Morgan, Moira Warburton and Richard Cowan; additional reporting by Makini Brice; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Grant McCool and Lisa Shumaker)
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