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)
By Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking
Republicans on Wednesday nominated Rep. Steve Scalise to be the next House speaker and will now try to unite around the conservative in a floor vote to elect him after ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the post.
In private balloting at the Capitol, House Republicans pushed aside Rep. Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman, in favor of Scalise, the current majority leader, lawmakers said. The Louisiana lawmaker is seen as a hero to some after surviving a mass shooting on lawmakers at a congressional baseball game practice few years ago.
Republicans who have been stalemated after McCarthy’s removal will seek to assemble their narrow House majority around Scalise in what is certain to be a close vote of the full House. Democrats are set to oppose the Republican nominee.
Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed support for Russia’s “sacred fight” during a summit with President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. warned could lead to a deal to supply ammunition for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Child poverty in the United States more than doubled and median household income declined last year when coronavirus pandemic-era government benefits expired and inflation kept rising, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday he is directing a House committee to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over his family's business dealings, launching historic proceedings ahead of the 2024 election.
The Biden administration issued a waiver to allow banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil funds without facing U.S. sanctions, a key step in a prisoner swap deal.
Attorneys for former President Donald Trump requested that the judge presiding over the federal case involving attempts to overturn the 2020 election be reassigned.
