Closing Summary
It is now 6pm in Washington DC. Here is a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
Jim Jordan, defeated in the Republican vote to decide a nominee for House speaker, plans to vote for the man who beat him, Steve Scalise, when the question comes to the House floor, according to a person with direct knowlege. Scalise will only be able to lose four Republican votes if he is to be confirmed as speaker, presuming all Democrats in the closely divided chamber vote no.
Georgia’s Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced that she will not vote for Steve Scalise on the House floor, citing her concerns about his cancer. “I like Steve Scalise, and I like him so much that I want to see him defeat cancer more than sacrifice his health in the most difficult position in Congress. I lost my father to cancer and it’s a very serious battle,” said Greene.
Speaking to reporters, national security council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday that the “sooner there is a speaker of the House, the more comfortable we’ll all be in terms of being able to support Israel and Ukraine right now … “That position is critical in terms of bringing legislation to the floor and moving things forward … Because of existing appropriations and existing authorities, we’ve been OK but that’s not going to last for ever,” he added.
Kevin Hearn of Oklahoma issued a statement confirming his run for majority leader, the Republican post previously occupied by Steve Scalise. Hern said: “I am running for majority leader. Once we unify and elect a speaker, our leadership team will need a policy-focused conservative majority leader. I promise you no one will outwork me, listen more carefully, or advance the Republican legislative agenda more faithfully than me.”
The New York Republican representative Anthony D’Esposito announced that he will be introducing an expulsion resolution to remove the Republican George Santos from the House. The resolution is co-sponsored by representatives Nick LaLota, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro, Nick Langworthy and Brandon Williams.
Santos said that he will not accept a plea deal and will run for re-election next year. On Wednesday, the New York representative, who is facing a 23-count federal indictment involving fraud and false campaign finance disclosures, told reporters: “I think I’ve made it clear that I will fight this to prove my innocence.”
Several former Ohio State University wrestlers voiced their opposition towards Republican representative Jim Jordan’s speaker candidacy. The former students have accused Jordan of ignoring sexual abuse and failing to protect them from a sexual predator while he was the team’s assistant coach.
Steve Scalise said his first order of business, if elected as House speaker, is to “bring a strong resolution expressing support for Israel … We’ve got a very bipartisan bill…ready to go right away to express our support for Israel,” he said.
The New Hampshire presidential primary filing period started on Wednesday, with the first candidate to register criticizing Joe Biden and paying a chunk of his filing fee in $2 bills, the Associated Press reports. The filing is a ritual unruffled by either a changing of the guard or changes to the nominating calendar elsewhere.
That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we wrap up the blog for today. Thank you for following along.
Updated
Marjorie Taylor Greene says 'Jim Jordan is the fighter we need'
“I think Jim Jordan is the fighter we need,” said Marjorie Taylor Greene following House Republicans’ vote to nominate Steve Scalise as the next House speaker.
“The speaker of the House is the hardest job in Congress, one of the hardest jobs in the country. It is extremely demanding and it’s very personal to me and I say this with the most compassion.
“My father died in April of 2021 with cancer and I like Steve Scalise … so much that I want to see him put all his time and energy into defeating cancer,” she added.
Speaker of the House is the hardest job in Congress and it’s extremely demanding.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) October 11, 2023
Our border is wide open and we are still funding a proxy war in Ukraine.
Jim Jordan is the fighter we need to be Speaker of the House in this time of national crisis. pic.twitter.com/i6owpC7Vv8
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