Scalise drops House speaker bid a day after winning GOP nomination. What happens now?

The House majority leader was the GOP's choice to succeed Kevin McCarthy, except he did not have enough Republican votes to seal the deal

Steve Scalise drops House speaker bid
Scalise, above, acknowledged late Thursday that he did not have the votes to win the gavel
(Image credit: Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call Inc via Getty Images)

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), chosen as the speaker-designee by his House Republican conference on Wednesday, ended his bid for the top spot late Thursday, acknowledging he did not have the 217 votes to win the gavel. The House has been without a speaker and unable to conduct business since a group of GOP hardliners forced the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) nine days ago. 

Scalise had spent the past 36 hours "working furiously to secure the votes" from GOP colleagues who backed rival speaker candidate Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) in Wednesday's 113-99 internal Republican ballot, The Associated Press reported. But after hours of closed-door meetings on Thursday, it became clear the numbers just didn't line up for Scalise.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.