United States | Quarrelsome Republicans chose Steve Scalise as their candidate for Speaker

of the United States Republicans in the House of Representatives chose the majority leader in a secret ballot on Wednesday Steve Scalise to run for the new speaker, news agencies and American media say.

Louisiana native Scalise, the second most powerful Republican in the House, defeated his opponent by Jim Jordan by a narrow 113–99 vote.

The tight voting result shows that the disputes tearing the party apart are not over. Scalise’s fate must also be voted on in the entire House of Representatives, where Republicans have a 221-212 majority compared to Democrats.

Is it is unclear whether Scalise will get enough Republicans behind him to be elected speaker. He is scheduled to take over from the outgoing Speaker From Kevin McCarthywhich was met with the fate of the extreme Republicans who rebelled against him last week.

When McCarthy was voted into office last January, 15 rounds of voting were needed. To get to his position, McCarthy had to make concessions to the fringes of his party.

Former president Donald Trump announced a few days before Wednesday’s vote that he would support Ohio’s Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, for speaker.

Scalise and Jordan were among 139 House members who voted Joe Biden against confirming the election victory on January 6, 2021.

That meant they supported Trump’s claims that Biden cheated himself out of the presidency. Such a position is important for Republicans if they want to remain in Trump’s favor.

Steve Scalise, 58, has been in the House of Representatives since 2008.

He defines himself on their website as a “conservative leader”, for whom the constitution, budget discipline, tax calculation, strong national defense, strict border security, freedom and conservative values ​​are important.

Scalise was seriously wounded when a terrorist opposed to Trump and other Republicans opened fire on congressional Republicans at a baseball practice in 2017. Six people were injured in the shooting, and the attacker was also shot.