Scalise slips away from speakership as House Republicans remain deeply divided

Geoff Bennett:

House Republicans and Congressman Steve Scalise today may have slipped further away, not closer, from having the votes to fill the job of speaker of the House. The chamber remains frozen and Republicans deeply divided over who should lead them.

Our Lisa Desjardins Dan spoke to dozens of members and joins us now.

So, Lisa, your reporting is that Scalise may have lost support, lost momentum today. Tell us about it.

Lisa Desjardins:

This was unusual. Now it is extraordinary, Geoff.

Somehow, this ship without a captain has become even more unmoored. Steve Scalise spent two-and-a-half-hours speaking to House Republicans today. But when they exited, Republicans were less sure, many of them, about his leadership.

Now, as for Scalise, he did speak to the press and he said he is undaunted.

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA):

We're continuing to work to narrow the gap. And that's going on and we're going to continue the meetings. There's some other members that want to meet as a group individually.

We have been — if you look at the model where we have gotten big things done as a conference.

Lisa Desjardins:

Now, that idea of consensus is still eluding him.

And let's talk about some specifics here. Scalise can only lose four Republican votes to become speaker without Democratic help. These are the people, 14 of them, who now publicly oppose him. And in addition to that, Geoff, how about this? I want to replay sound from the story we ran yesterday.

This is Keith Self of Texas. Here's what he told me yesterday.

Rep. Keith Self (R-TX):

We need to get back to work, and I think we took the vote, and Steve Scalise is our nominee, and I will vote for Steve Scalise on the floor.

Lisa Desjardins:

After today's meeting, Geoff, Self said he is no longer going to support Steve Scalise. That kind of switch is a cataclysmic problem for not just Scalise, but the Republican Party and indeed the House of Representatives itself.

We're waiting to see if Republicans meet tonight. We do not know when or if they will hold a speaker vote this week.

Geoff Bennett:

So, Lisa, what apparently happened in this meeting? Help us with the dynamics here. How is Steve Scalise losing support so quickly?

Lisa Desjardins:

Right.

There is some concern about Steve Scalise's health. As we have reported, he is dealing with myeloma, blood cancer. But I don't really think that's a core concern here. I want to talk about two things that have happened in the last day.

First, we know that in that meeting yesterday, Scalise and his allies blocked an attempt to change the rules over how the speaker vote would go. Now, those who pushed that rule say that the way he blocked it without even really giving a chance for real debate reminded them of the past and the way leadership forced things through, got their way without consulting members.

That rubbed a lot of members the wrong way. The other thing was today, his speech itself in the conference meeting. I spoke to members who have known him a long time, have said, I have been with him. I have seen him really to have a starring role, but today he felt flat, that his actual voice to the conference was not one of leadership. He didn't have a plan for what to do next.

And that made a lot of people nervous about what's going forward. And I think the other issue here, Geoff, honestly, is that some conservative radio talk show hosts are telling Republican voters to call members and to say don't vote for Scalise. And those phones are in fact ringing off the hook, so much so now there's a talk of a plan C, maybe not Scalise, maybe not Jordan, maybe someone else.

Usually, I wouldn't report that because it seems so out of the norm, but it is at this moment real talk.

Geoff Bennett:

Well, I was going to ask you that. I mean, this is very much a fluid situation.

If not Steve Scalise, if not Jim Jordan, then who? Who else is waiting in the wings? And who potentially could get to 217 votes?

Lisa Desjardins:

That's right.

I just can't stress enough what a strange day it was here up on the Hill. There are names being mentioned like Tom Emmer, who is in leadership now, very well-liked. But, in general, it seems what's happening with those who oppose Steve Scalise, the growing group, they really want a different kind of leadership, someone who hasn't been in leadership before.

And I will tell you, I want to play some sound of folks we talked to today. You listen to how people are reacting to this time, how they're handling it, there are some worried about the stakes. There are some who don't want Scalise. Essentially, Republicans are a little bit all over the place.

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN):

You know, there's a process. Like I said, it's painful and laborious at times, but I would say that momentum is, quite frankly, with Jim Jordan right now. I love Steve Scalise, but, again, I'm not on the whip team, but I can count votes, and the votes aren't there for Steve.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA):

Everything's at a gridlock. It's a waste of time continuing to go in there behind closed doors.

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX):

I think it could be healthy. I think it's healthy having these — but, at some point in time, we got to put — we got to put our party and our country above our own self-interest at times.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX):

The world's on fire. Our adversaries are watching what we do and that, quite frankly, they like it. And Chairman Xi talks about how democracy doesn't work. And we're proving him right. And we need to fill the chair.

Lisa Desjardins:

And talking about the Chinese leader there, this is just to stress this is not just internal divisions right here with the Republican Party, though, of course, that's in bold display.

This is something about U.S. government. The speaker is the second in line to the U.S. president. And, really, we don't know when Republicans are going to be able to move into having a speaker for the House of Representatives.

Geoff Bennett:

Lisa Desjardins, thanks, as always for that up-to-the-minute reporting.

Lisa Desjardins:

You're welcome.