COLORADO, USA — Colorado Republicans Ken Buck and Lauren Boebert were among GOP House members who didn't support their party's narrow nomination of Louisiana Republican Steve Scalise as speaker Wednesday as the chamber remained unable to conduct business until a speaker is chosen.
Scalise, the GOP's majority leader, was nominated in closed-door balloting by the House Republican conference but will have to win over nearly all of his fellow GOP lawmakers to secure the gavel.
Amid mounting pressure over fiscal deadlines and war in the Middle East, the House has been paralyzed since last week when eight Republicans — including Buck — joined with the chamber's Democrats to fire former Speaker Kevin McCarthy over charges the California Republican had lost the confidence of some lawmakers.
Scalise secured the nomination in secret balloting Wednesday by winning 113 votes out of 225 cast by Republicans, defeating his only declared opponent, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Jordan received votes from 99 of his GOP colleagues, with the remainder choosing someone else or voting "present."
> Read the full story on Colorado Politics.
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