Aspirants to lead the US Lower House submit to Republican screening

The two candidates to succeed the Republican Kevin McCarthy as leader of the Low camera of USAJim Jordan and Steve Scalise, will undergo the screening of their colleagues on Tuesday, before whom they will present their candidacy behind closed doors.

The “Number Three” of the party in that chamber, Elise Stefanik, indicated on

That “candidates forum”, As they have named it, it will begin at 5:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. GMT) and will be followed on Wednesday by the internal vote that will decide who moves forward with the process.

The leadership of the House of Representatives is temporarily in the hands of Patrick McHenry, representative of North Carolina’s 10th district, after McCarthy was removed on October 3 following a motion against him presented by fellow conservative Matt Gaetz. , a member of the most radical wing of the formation.

Although McCarthy initially indicated that he did not plan to run again for the position of “speaker”, the name by which that position is known in English, this Monday he left that possibility open by stating that his eventual return to the leadership of the Lower House is in the hands of his party.

“I’ll let them make whatever decision.” he stressed in a press conference.

At the moment, according to the online Politico, neither Scalise nor Jordan nor McCarthy have the necessary support, but McCarthy has loyal legislators, from the centrist wing, who promise to nominate him to return to office.

Jordan currently holds the chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee and Scalise is the Republican majority leader in that chamber.

The latter is undergoing treatment for blood cancer and there are those who consider this to be a factor against him. “I think his health is a problem. I don’t want someone who is going to get worse in the position. It’s a hard job where you have to be everywhere“Ralph Norman, a Jordan supporter, told CNN.

Until there is a new president, the Lower House remains practically paralyzed, with no possibility of approving new legislation, at a time when the budgets for the current fiscal year are being negotiated and when aid is also up in the air. to Ukraine or Israel.

“The House has to get back to work and that means we have to elect the speaker,” Scalise said this Monday night after another closed-door meeting held by Republicans, who took power after the November 2022 midterm elections.