House Republicans elected Steve Scaliseas their new leader on Wednesday, also making him the party’s nominee to replaceKevin McCarthyas House speaker. Scalise, 58,defeated Jim Jordanin a 113-99 closed-door vote to earn the GOP nomination, according to reports from bothNBC NewsandThe Hill.

NBC News reported that applause was heard from outside the voting room as Republicans completed the vote, which some lawmakers had earlier indicated could have dragged on for days, rather than a couple short hours.

Next on the agenda, the full House will convene for a speaker election, in which Democrats are expected to unanimously vote for House Minority LeaderHakeem Jeffriesand Republicans aim to unify behind Scalise.

To become House speaker, one of the candidates will need to secure a majority vote; if neither candidate earns a majority, a new round of voting will begin and the process will repeat until a speaker is chosen.

Historically, the speaker election is a formality in which the party that controls the House easily elects its candidate to the position, butprecedent changed in Januarywhen McCarthy battledRepublican rebels who worked to sabotage his bidfor the role, preventing him from earning a majority vote until he gave in to their demands. That speaker election ultimately tookfour days and 15 rounds of voting.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty

U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) listens during a press conference following a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building on July 18, 2023 in Washington, DC. Former U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he is a target in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol

Scalise, until now the House majority leader, emerged as one of the leading contenders to replace McCarthy, announcing his candidacy in atwo-page letterlast week.

In August, Scalise announced he had been “diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a very treatable blood cancer,” and said he plans to keep working while he is being treated.

Kevin McCarthy.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

The unprecedented motion to remove McCarthy from the nation’s third-highest post followed arecall vote in which the House voted 216-210to strip the lawmaker ofhis leadership role.

After the recall vote, the House clerk announced Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina as speaker pro tempore until a permanent speaker is elected. McCarthy, 58, picked McHenry, 47, as his successor in January, Politico reported, but the role was not announced at the time for security reasons.

McCarthy later told Republicans he would not run for speaker again,The New York Timesreported.

source: people.com