Representative Steve Scalise has stepped down from the race for the House Speakership, leaving the GOP in a leadership limbo. Despite narrowly defeating Representative Jim Jordan in a preliminary vote, Scalise could not muster the 217 votes needed for a win.
“I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for Speaker designee. If you look at over the last few weeks, there’s still work to be done. Our conference still has to come together. There are still some people that have their own agendas,” Scalise said.
This withdrawal, both unexpected and yet somewhat anticipated, has intensified the GOP’s leadership crisis. The question now is, who will step up?
While many Republicans are rallying behind Jordan, he’s facing opposition from within the party. Here’s Democratic Senator Cory Booker on MSNBC:
“To have this level of dysfunction amongst the House Republicans, and especially a number of small group of right-wing folks who are undermining the functioning of government, this is very problematic at a terrible time going on in our world right now.”
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
