House Republicans will attempt to elect a new speaker this week, a task that’s already complicated by deep divisions within the GOP caucus and made urgent as Israel, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, is suddenly engulfed in what promises to be a bloody and protracted war.
The two declared candidates for the speakership, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, have made statements in support of Israel.
“The United States will always stand with Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East,” Mr. Scalise wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, just hours after the surprise attack perpetrated by Hamas began on Oct. 7.
He then promised to hold the Biden administration accountable for its “policy of appeasement” toward that militant group, which doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the State of Israel and advocates the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“We need to immediately help replenish Israel’s stockpile of Iron Dome missiles to protect more innocent civilians from getting killed,” Mr. Jordan wrote on X on Oct. 8. “Let’s make sure Congress can unite and assure Israel has what it needs to destroy Hamas.”
Those words carry little weight since neither candidate has yet been elected speaker. In any case, Congress is powerless to take action until a permanent replacement for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is in place.
Mr. McCarthy was ousted from the role on Oct. 3 when eight members of his own party were joined by 208 Democrats in their effort to vacate the chair.
Timeline of Events
Moments after the vote to vacate the chair, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), a close ally of Mr. McCarthy, was declared speaker pro tempore because of a post-9/11 rule designed to ensure a transition of power in case of emergency.Mr. McHenry declared a recess for one week to allow both parties an opportunity to meet and prepare to elect a speaker.
Republicans, visibly frustrated with the faction that had voted to oust Mr. McCarthy, met to determine their process for the days ahead. At that meeting, Mr. McCarthy said he wouldn’t seek reelection to the speakership.
The following day, Oct. 4, Mr. Scalise and Mr. Jordan declared their candidacy for the office. A third potential candidate, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chair of the House’s largest caucus, the Republican Study Committee, announced that he wouldn’t enter the race.
On Oct. 6, a third Republican presidential primary debate, to be televised by Fox News, was announced for Oct. 9. Only hours later, the event was canceled amid concerns that it would become a showcase for the disunity among House Republicans.
The January election of Mr. McCarthy as speaker played out over four days and 15 ballots as a faction of House GOP members declined to support him until certain demands were met, including a rules change to allow a single member to call for a vote to vacate the chair.
That wrangling was aired on live television, something Republicans wouldn’t wish to repeat.
Also on Oct. 6, 45 House Republicans sent a letter to their colleagues, denouncing the faction that opposed Mr. McCarthy and declaring that the “injustice we all witnessed cannot go unaddressed.” The group called on Republicans to make unspecified “fundamental changes to the structure of our majority.”
Hours later, at 6:19 a.m. in Israel on Oct. 7, Hamas launched a major attack from the Gaza Strip, including rocket attacks that overwhelmed Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. Incursions into the country by militants resulted in at least 150 people being taken hostage.
The death toll in the conflict has been estimated at 1,500 so far, including some 900 Israelis and at least 11 Americans.
On Oct. 9, Mr. McCarthy held a news conference to list five actions that President Joe Biden should take to deal with the crisis in the Middle East, which he called a “colossal failure” of U.S. intelligence.
“I want to make it very clear that this will not be Afghanistan, that we will not leave Americans on the ground. This administration has to learn: we do not do that as Americans,” Mr. McCarthy said, sounding more like a candidate for speaker of the House than as the representative of a lone congressional district.
Asked whether he could envision entering the race, Mr. McCarthy said that’s a choice for the conference to make.
The Process From Here
House Republicans are scheduled to conduct a candidate forum on Oct. 10, then hold a party election the following day.
A speaker election by the entire House could come as early as Oct. 11 or 12, provided Republicans come to a consensus on their preferred candidate.
“I think we shouldn’t go to the floor until we know that we have the votes. Until we know what our plan is going forward,” Mr. Jordan told CNN on Oct. 9.
The GOP holds 221 seats in the 435-member House of Representatives. Two seats are vacant, which means 117 votes are required to elect a speaker. A Republican candidate must win the support of all but four colleagues to claim the gavel.
Both Mr. Scalise and Mr. Jordan have been lining up endorsements and supporters. Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Mr. Jordan.
Mr. Scalise survived a mass shooting in 2017 during a practice session for the annual congressional baseball game. In August, he began treatment for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, and announced on Sept. 27 that the cancer had “dropped dramatically.”
Both candidates are staunch conservatives. Mr. Scalise, 57, is a former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest of the five major Republican caucuses. Mr. Jordan, 59, is a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, the party’s most conservative group.
