Republican Steve Scalise on path to US House speaker in turbulent time
By Makini Brice
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives nominated Steve Scalise to be the chamber's next speaker on Wednesday, a challenging role after hard-right members of his party cut short the tenure of the last three holders of the position.
But the New Orleans-born lawmaker has faced adversity before — including a 2017 shooting when he was badly wounded by a gunman angry about then-President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers.
Scalise, 58, prevailed on Wednesday in a closed-door party vote. Getting the role, which is second in line to the presidency after the vice president, will require winning the support of a majority of the House, which Republicans control by a 221-212 majority.
He was working with his team on Wednesday to drum up that support before calling a House vote.
«Obviously we still have work to do,» Scalise, who is being treated for a form of blood cancer, told reporters on Wednesday. «We're going to have to go upstairs on the House floor and resolve this and then get the House opened again. We have a lot of work to do.»
Hardline Republicans made predecessor Kevin McCarthy the first speaker to be ousted in a historic Oct. 3 vote. McCarthy was the third consecutive Republican speaker to leave the top post due to pressure from his hard-right flank.
Scalise has pledged to unite the caucus.
«I have a proven track record of bringing together the diverse array of viewpoints within our Conference to build consensus where others thought it impossible,» he wrote in a letter to his colleagues announcing his run for speaker.
In that letter, Scalise blasted the administration of President Joe Biden over inflation, the national debt and policies on energy, crime and
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