Republicans nominate Steve Scalise to be House speaker but struggle to unite quickly and elect him
Republicans have nominated Rep. Steve Scalise to be the next House speaker WASHINGTON -- Republicans nominated Rep. Steve Scalise on Wednesday to be the next House speaker but struggled to quickly unite their deeply divided majority and elect the conservative in a public floor vote after the historic ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the job. In private balloting at the Capitol, House Republicans narrowly pushed aside Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the firebrand Judiciary Committee chairman, in favor of Scalise, the current majority leader. The Louisiana congressman, who is battling blood cancer, is seen as a hero to some after surviving a shooting on lawmakers at a congressional baseball game practice in 2017. “We have a lot of work to do,” Scalise said afterward. A floor vote of the whole House was expected, but tensions are still running high among Re public ans who have brought the House to a standstill with bitter infighting after McCarthy’s stunning removal last week. The House was gave...