Steve Scalise, the Republican nominee for Speaker of the House of Representatives, has withdrawn his candidacy.

Steve Scalise, the Republican nominee for Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (President), announced Thursday evening, October 12, that he is withdrawing his candidacy. The representative from Louisiana, already the Republican leader of the House, won an informal election on Wednesday to replace Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted on October 3. But he failed to gain the support he needed because of fraternal feuds between moderate elected officials and Trumpist troublemakers within his party.

At 58, he has the support of several party heavyweights and is favored over Jim Jordan, who chairs the Judiciary Committee and is known for his skepticism of US aid to Ukraine and the support of Donald Trump.

But to officially climb the perch, Mr. Scalise had to overcome the critical stage of voting in the plenary session of the House of Representatives narrowly controlled by his colleagues – 221 seats against 212 for the Democrats -, probably the most difficult moment. This process. He needed 217 votes to be elected. In the end, he didn’t take the risk of failure.

“Some people have their own agenda”

“I have informed my colleagues that I am withdrawing my name as a candidate.”he told reporters. “If you look at the last few weeks (…)There is always work to be donehe added. Others have their own agenda. »

Earlier in the day, representatives of the Republican-elected House debated for hours behind closed doors, unable to overcome their differences, which prevented them from agreeing on a replacement for the ousted Kevin McCarthy for nine days.

About a dozen conservatives have indicated they will oppose the nomination of Steve Scalise, known for surviving a 2017 shooting. They emphasized the elected official’s budget levels and the fact that he was suffering from cancer. , or the speech he gave twenty years ago at a convention connected with the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan to block him.

Will the blockage last a few more days? A few weeks? There is confusion at all levels of the party. “This country believes that we will unite. The House of Representatives needs a Speaker, and we do [la] Reactivate »Steve Scalise insisted. “But it’s clear that not everyone is there. And there are always divisions that need to be resolved.”he added. “Shouldn’t we all go home and meet next week?” »For her role, Trumpst nominated elected official Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday afternoon.

“An obvious solution”

Joe Biden’s Democrats are in the minority in the House, so they have been the main audience for the chaotic negotiations in Congress. Barring a surprise alliance with moderate Republicans, that would put an end to this unprecedented situation.

“Republican civil war in House continues to paralyze Congress”Democratic House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries expressed regret on Thursday.“The only way out of this is the obvious solution.”

The urgency to not leave the Speaker’s seat vacant was fueled by the crisis in Israel so that it could vote on possible measures and approve additional aid to Ukraine.

A revolt by eight Republican elected officials was enough to bring down Kevin McCarthy last week, when fifteen rounds voted in January to name him speaker — unheard of in the House’s history.