House Majority Leaader Steve Scalise, R-La., is expected to announce a bid for Speaker at some point on Wednesday, Fox News Digital has learned.
The timing of Scalise’s announcement is still unclear.
It comes after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted from the top job on Tuesday by a small number of GOP hardliners and all House Democrats.
A senior GOP aide told Fox News Digital on Tuesday night that Scalise could be a viable “frontrunner” and that much of the conference would be “open” to his candidacy for Speaker.
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Scalise is McCarthy’s longtime No. 2, a partnership that has caused public friction between the two at times. In June, the two leaders publicly blamed each other when conservative hardliners protesting McCarthy’s debt limit deal with President Biden derailed legislative proceedings on the House floor.
But he’s already managed to snag support of key Republicans, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.
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A source familiar with Emmer’s thinking confirmed to Fox News Digital that he is supporting Scalise for speaker while making his own calls to gauge interest in a possible run for majority leader himself.
Others have also jumped behind Scalise, like Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who said, “For a time such as this…Steve is the right man to lead our country.”
Conservative Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., also said she would be supporting Scalise.
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“Our next Speaker should be someone with top-notch leadership skills and great experience. That someone is [Scalise], and I am proud to support him for Speaker,” McClain said.
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Scalise is a member of the Republican Study Committee, whose chair, Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., is also giving the speakership serious thought.
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was the first to announce his bid for the speaker’s gavel.
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