Rep. Steve Scalise on GOP in-fighting, McCarthy ousting: ‘There was a lot of frustration’
House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., reacts to former President Trump supporting Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid for House Speaker and discusses why he would be a good fit for the job.
House speaker hopeful Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., joined "FOX & Friends" Friday morning shortly after former President Trump's late-night endorsement of Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to make his case as the best candidate to get the House "back on track."
JIM JORDAN ADDRESSES POSSIBILITY OF TRUMP BECOMING HOUSE SPEAKER
STEVE SCALISE: We [Trump and I] spoke, obviously. A lot of friendships in this race. A lot of folks that have been talking to other folks on the outside to bring into this race. There's a lot of interest in this race. But at the end of the day, it's a lot of one-on-one conversations over the last few days I've been having with my colleagues and a lot of introspection about how we get things back on track. The problems that we have internally, they don't go away with the new speaker. But the real question the members have is how do we get things back on track? And the reason I've been able to build such a strong base of support over these last few days that's been growing is that I've got a long proven record and somebody who knows how to unify Republicans to fight on the battles that matter for the families who gave us this majority. They want us to be fighting over border security, getting spending under control. It's driving inflation. The things that we came here to do are what we've got to get back on track doing. And that's the conversations we've been having these last few days. And we're going to continue having. We got to get this resolved soon. That's going to get resolved Wednesday in our conference. But then we've got to go back fighting for those families who are struggling because that's what the real fight's about.
Lawmakers voted to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from his leadership role earlier this week, the first time in the history of the House of Representatives that the chamber voted to boot a member from the top job.
Eight Republicans voted with every present Democrat to vacate the speaker's chair. The final vote was 216 to 210 in favor of McCarthy's ouster.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a measure against McCarthy known as a motion to vacate on Monday night, accusing him of breaking promises he made to win the speaker's gavel in January.
Since then, both Scalise and Jordan have formally put their name forward for the speakership. Other prominent party members including Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and even former President Donald Trump have been floated around as options.
For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion, and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media.
FOX News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.