Is Rep. Steve Scalise's speaker bid already doomed to fail?

A narrow victory among the House Republican caucus could be a sign of trouble to come for the Louisiana conservative

Anvil falling on Steve Scalise
Is Steve Scalise ready to assume one of the most powerful positions in the United States government?
(Image credit: Illustrated / Getty Images)

It's typically a sign of unity and cohesion when a political party with a congressional majority rallies to elect its nominee to become the next speaker of the House of Representatives. For the fractious and discordant Republican caucus of 2023, however, this week's election to nominate a replacement for the recently ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was yet another opportunity to highlight the deep divisions that have defined the party's narrow majority for the past congressional session. 

When House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) emerged from his party's closed-door meeting on Tuesday as the GOP's pick to wield the speaker's gavel, he acknowledged that Republicans "still have work to do" while lauding his party's "resolve" to return to the House floor and restart the legislative process that's been stalled since McCarthy's ouster. 

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.