House Republicans look to lock in their speaker pick behind closed doors

Congress

House Republicans gather Wednesday morning to try and decide which speaker candidate — Majority Leader Steve Scalise or Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) — to rally around.

The closed door House GOP Conference meeting will start after the all-member briefing on Israel that’s already underway.

It was clear after Tuesday night’s candidates forum that neither candidate has the near-unanimous support among Republicans needed to win the speakership on the House floor.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy made his own pitch to his colleagues: Don’t nominate me. “There’s two people running in there, and I’m not one of them,” McCarthy told reporters Tuesday evening.

“Even though I’m an eternal optimist, I don’t see us getting to a speaker tomorrow,” Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) said Tuesday evening.

Promises made: One major development at the candidates forum was Scalise’s promise to back Jordan if he was the conference’s pick. Jordan skirted around the inverse scenario, but eventually confirmed he would back his opponent if Scalise is chosen by the conference.

Rules change proposal: House Republicans will also vote Wednesday morning on a proposal to raise the threshold needed within the GOP conference to bring a candidate to the House floor for a vote. Republicans have relied on a simple majority in the past, but the new proposal would require 217 votes within the conference — a guarantee that the GOP nominee could win a floor vote.

The rules change has become somewhat of a proxy fight given that Jordan is backing the change and Scalise is working to defeat it. But it is gaining steam within the conference because members do not want another bruising floor fight that lays bare the GOP’s disarray.

Caitlin Emma contributed to this report.