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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the Republican pick to replace Kevin McCarthy, is dropping out of the race for speaker after failing to rally enough support to take up the gavel.
On Wednesday, Scalise won the conference nomination in a closed-door vote of 113-99, edging out the more conservative Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio. However, Scalise did not have enough support to gain the 217 votes needed to officially secure the speakership.
The big question now is whether the conference will be able to rally around Jordan, who will likely receive pushback from more moderate Republicans.
The pressure is on to find a new speaker with current government funding lasting only until mid-November and the ongoing war in Israel. Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul of Texas says Republicans need to act quickly.