AURN News with Ebony McMorris

House Republican Speaker Battle: Who Will Lead the Way?

Ebony McMorris
October 23, 2023

FILE - Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, upper left, confers with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., as Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, center, and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., far right, tabulate votes as Republicans failed to elect Jordan as speaker, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. After the rejection of McCarthy, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Jordan by the GOP caucus, Emmer is emerging as the newest probable candidate to hold the gavel. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The House enters its third week without a Speaker, and Republicans are back at square one. Two speaker nominees have withdrawn, unable to secure the crucial 217 votes on the House floor. Pessimism blooms, but Republicans are determined, they say, with the Speaker Forum tonight and an internal election tomorrow.

Amid the fight for Speaker, some House Republicans are worried about a key spending promise by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, fearing another trillion-dollar omnibus spending package could emerge.

Despite criticisms, the prospects of such a bill are rising as the GOP searches for its new leader. Nine Republicans are now running for Speaker, but the question remains, can any of them break the Speaker’s stalemate that has left the House in limbo? We’ll be watching closely as this historic Speaker saga unfolds.

Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.

White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris is a native Washingtonian and University of South Carolina alumna. Her passion is mentoring young adults by teaching community empowerment and media education. She is an NAB member and board member of the Thurgood Marshall Center and was presented the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for contributing more than 4,000 hours of community service under the Obama Administration.