Steve Scalise Announces Bid for House Speaker, Vows to Unite Divided Republican Caucus

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced Wednesday that he will seek to be the next House Speaker. Scalise, a national figure after surviving a brutal assassination attempt during a congressional baseball practice, made calls to shore up support for his bid to succeed ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

In a letter to Republicans, Scalise wrote, “When I was in the hospital for nearly 15 weeks, it was the possibility of getting back to work with all of you that kept me motivated to get better. During that time, I was often asked why after nearly losing my life because of this job I would want to go back. It was never a question for me: I love this country, and I believe we were sent here to come together and solve the immense challenges we face.”

Scalise and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan are the two official candidates to succeed McCarthy. Jordan is a McCarthy ally, despite the fact that he is from the Freedom Caucus and Scalise was in effect McCarthy’s deputy. It seems unlikely that another candidate with a real shot at winning will enter the race.

The House is often seen in ideological or partisan terms from the outside, but a leader’s faction almost by definition has to span the ideological breadth of the caucus. Scalise and Jordan will have to demonstrate their ability to bring together a diverse group of Republicans in order to win the speakership.