Reps. Jordan and Scalise launch bids for U.S. House speaker

Congressman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on Wednesday became the first representative to confirm he is running to be the next House speaker the day after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted. Jordan leads the House Judiciary Committee and is a founding member of the Freedom Caucus. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Republican from Lousiana, also said on Wednesday that he will run for the position. In separate letters to Republican legislators, both men said they would work to unify the party.

When will the House vote on a new speaker? The House will hold a candidate forum on Oct. 10 and start the speaker vote the following day. Lawmakers in January conducted a marathon 15 rounds of voting over the course of four days before electing McCarthy to the role. While McCarthy said he will not attempt to retake the seat, several other high-ranking Republican legislators could throw their hat in the ring before next week’s vote.

Dig deeper: Read Erick Erickson’s column in WORLD Opinions about what led to McCarthy’s ouster.