(NewsNation) — Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is officially making a second bid at the nomination for speaker of the House as Republicans work to find a figure who can fill the vacancy and get the House back in session. The Republican caucus is meeting behind closed doors to determine the new nominee.
Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), a lesser-known Republican, has also thrown his hat in the ring. From rural Georgia, Scott has been in office since 2010 and holds seats on three major committees, including the Armed Services Committee.
Republicans previously nominated House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) for the role, but he dropped out after it became clear he did not have enough votes to win in a floor vote.
A candidate only needs 111 to get the nomination, after House GOP members rejected an effort to change the rules in hopes of avoiding a messy floor fight. To win on the House floor, a nominee will need to earn 217 votes.
How the vote plays out could indicate how attempts to unite the party are going. If Jordin or Scott earns a significant number of votes, it’s a sign things are going well, but if votes are split more evenly, there is likely still a lot of work to be done to find a viable nominee.
With a narrow majority of 221 seats, that means any nominee will need to be able to unite Republicans who have been at odds over different priorities within the party or court Democrats in an attempt to earn more votes.
Some Republicans who backed Scalise may still be holding grudges over Jordan’s behavior after the first vote for the nomination, feeling he didn’t fully support Scalise when he won.
Democrats are expected to nominate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as they did in January when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was elected after 15 floor rounds of votes.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.) led the vote to vacate the office and remove McCarthy. The dispute centered over spending cuts, with Gaetz and others demanding steeper cuts than McCarthy agreed to when making a deal with the White House to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a U.S. default.
McCarthy worked with Democrats to pass a continuing resolution that funds the government through Nov. 17, postponing the possiblity of a shutdown as Congress attemps to work out a budget.
The House is unable to resume the business of bringing legislation to the floor and holding votes until a new speaker is elected, leaving Congress paralyzed even as President Joe Biden is pushing lawmakers to take action to support Israel in its war against Hamas.