The field of those gunning for the House GOP’s third nominee for Speaker is quickly becoming crowded after the conference voted on Friday to ditch House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
The conference pushed Jordan aside in a secret ballot internal vote shortly after he lost a third House floor vote on Friday. Before Jordan, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) narrowly won the nomination — but withdrew his name a day later after supporters of Jordan refused to support him. Scalise said on Tuesday that he would not be seeking the nomination again.
House Republicans are set to meet behind closed doors for their candidate forum on Monday at 6:30 p.m., then will move to an internal nomination election on Tuesday at 9 a.m. The deadline for candidates to file their candidacies is on Sunday at noon.
Here’s who is running for the position and who is considering it according to The Hill.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.)
Emmer is making calls for a run for Speaker, a source familiar tells The Hill — and is seeking the position.
The majority whip — who previously served as chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) — would be the highest-ranking lawmaker to jockey for the position. He has endured leadership races in the past, a fact that could help him prevail this time around.
“He is the right person for the job. He can unite the conference. He understands the dynamics of the conference. He also understands what it takes to win and keep a majority,” McCarthy told Punchbowl News.
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.)
Hern, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, announced his bid for Speaker while walking out of the closed-door conference meeting in which GOP lawmakers voted to dump Jordan.
Hern considered running for Speaker after McCarthy’s ouster — he worked towards contacting members of the conference while eyeing a bid — but ultimately stayed on the sidelines as Scalise and Jordan duked it out.
Now, Hern says he is in. And after a blistering few weeks that pitted Republicans against one another, he thinks he is the one to unite the conference.
“People want to be heard, they want to be valued, and I think that’s what you’re seeing right now,” Hern said. “There’s a lot of historical relationships that some are not going to ever be able to work around and I don’t have those negatives out there.”
House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson (R-La.)
Johnson is making calls about running for Speaker, a spokesperson said.
The fourth-term lawmaker is an attorney and a former talk show host who is well-liked in the House GOP. He serves on the House Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas)
Arrington, the chair of the House Budget Committee, said he is mulling a bid for Speaker after Jordan exited the race.
“I would say I am seriously considering and still praying about it,” he said, adding there were “a lot of people to talk to before that decision is made.”
The Texas lawmaker said he would speak with the rest of his state’s delegation and that “a number of members have asked us to consider it.”
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.)
A spokesman confirmed that Donalds, a second-term lawmaker who sits on the Financial Services and Oversight committees, is running for Speaker.
Donalds received votes for the Speakership from GOP defectors both during McCarthy’s 15-ballot Speaker race in January and during Jordan’s three ballots this week.
Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.)
Bergman, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general and a fourth-term lawmaker, is relatively unknown nationally and was not on many peoples’ radar as a potential Speaker candidate until this week. But after two failed Speaker nominees, more dark horse candidates are throwing their names out.
“What we need right now is a Speaker who has experience leading and can put ego aside to work together for the American people. We need a leader who shuns permanent power and recognizes the current crisis of leadership. I’m ready to serve. Together we can end the deadlock, and win the vote,” Bergman said.
Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.)
Scott — a seventh-term lawmaker from Georgia — was largely seen as an under-the-radar backbencher until last week, when he launched a last-minute challenge to Jordan for the Speakership.
Scott is now back in.
Scott lost the secret ballot against Jordan in a 124-81 vote, a fairly strong showing that surprised many considering he jumped in the race minutes before the election, and he told reporters at the time “I don’t necessarily want to be the speaker of the House, I want a House that functions correctly, but the House is not functioning correctly right now.”
In his announcement on Friday, Scott said the GOP conference needs to “do the right things the right way.”
“If we are going to be the majority we need to act like the majority, and that means we have to do the right things the right way. I supported and voted for Rep. Jim Jordan to be the Speaker of the House. Now that he has withdrawn I am running again to be the Speaker of the House,” Scott wrote on X.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas)
Sessions announced Friday afternoon that he is running for Speaker, making a move to re-enter the leadership fray after taking a backseat in recent years.
Sessions served as chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee from January 2009 until January 2013. Republicans won the majority in 2010, netting 63 seats, and they maintained their majority in 2012.
“Congressman Sessions believes he can forge a positive path as a conservative leader who can unite the Conference,” his office wrote in a statement.
Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.)
Meuser told reporters following Friday’s closed-door meeting that he is “strongly considering” running for Speaker.
“I come from the business world and I plan to bring, if I run, a business perspective to things and gain consensus and do the things that are necessary in order to get 217 votes,” Meuser told reporters after the closed-door meeting.
