Majority leader Steve Scalise has defeated Ohio Rep Jim Jordan to win the Republican Party nomination to be speaker of the House of Representatives.
The vote was 113-99 in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday morning. A loud cheer was heard by reporters as the result was announced.
Mr Scalise will now need to muster 217 votes on the floor of the House to become speaker and second in line to the presidency. A full chamber vote previously scheduled for 3pm ET on Wednesday has been delayed.
This will require the backing of almost all of the GOP conference — just five members could block him from winning the gavel.
The triumph of Mr Scalise is especially notable given that he defeated Donald Trump’s endorsed candidate for the role – Mr Jordan. His nomination follows the recent dramatic ousting of speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Speaking to reporters after winning the nomination, Mr Scalise said: “First, I want to thank my House Republican colleagues for just designating me as the speaker.
“Obviously we still have work to do we’re going to have to go upstairs on the House floor and resolve this and then get the House open again.
“We have a lot of work to do, not just in the House [but] for the people of this country – we see how dangerous of a world it is and how things can change so quickly.
“We need to make sure we’re sending a message to people throughout the world that the House is open and doing the people’s business.”
He added: “Our first resolution that we pass under Speaker Steve Scalise will be to make it clear that we stand with Israel.
“But obviously there’s a lot more work to do. There’s a lot of business to take care of. Families are struggling all across this country.”
Mr Scalise also suggested that the surprise cross-border attack from Hamas on Israel underscored the need for border security changes in the US.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana speaks to reporters as he arrives for a meeting of House Republicans to vote on candidates for Speaker of the House— (AP)
The 58-year-old previously served in the Louisiana state House and had a very brief tenure in the state Senate before he joined the US House in 2008, picking up Bobby Jindal’s seat when he became governor.
Addressing colleagues in a letter on 4 October as he outlined his reasons for running for the speakership, Mr Scalise mentioned being shot at a 2017 congressional baseball practice, thanking those who “saved my life” during the incident.
“I firmly believe this conference is a family. When I was shot in 2017, it was members of this conference who saved my life on that field. When I made it to the hospital and my family was told my chances of surviving were low, it was the prayers from all of you that carried us through,” he said.
“You know my leadership style I’ve displayed as your majority leader and whip. I have a proven track record of bringing together the diverse array of viewpoints within our conference to build consensus where others thought it impossible,” he added.
Mr Scalise was gravely wounded in the shooting that took place as Republicans were practising ahead of a charity game, with the recovery taking months following concerns that he might not make it through.
Despite Mr Scalise winning the initial nomination on Wednesday, other hard-line Republicans said that they would be casting their vote for Mr Jordan when the vote reached the House floor.
Representative Lauren Boebert said that “a chance to unify the party behind closed doors” had been missed, writing on X: “The American people deserve a real change in leadership, not a continuation of the status quo.”
Representative Max Miller also indicated that he would cast a vote for Mr Jordan.
Mr Jordan himself reportedly offered an ambiguous endorsement to Mr Scalise, saying: “We can’t go to the floor unless we have 217. If it’s Scalise that can get there, I’ll be for him.”
