By Maeve Sheehey and Jonathan Tamari, Bloomberg News
After a handful of conservative hardliners ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Tuesday, Republicans have to decide who to turn to next to try and manage their slim and unruly majority and lead the House.
A number of current GOP leaders could emerge in coming days although at this point they remain loyal to McCarthy and opposed to any efforts to remove him.
McCarthy allies and critics alike worry there might not be another lawmaker who can win enough support from the conference to take over, leaving the House effectively unable to operate. McCarthy could have tried to reclaim the speakership but said Tuesday he will not do so.
Here are possible contenders for the top job:
Rep. Steve Scalise (La.)
As the majority leader, the affable lawmaker from Louisiana is the second-ranking Republican and so, theoretically, he’d be first in line to replace McCarthy. Scalise has a more conservative profile than McCarthy, potentially helping him win over Freedom Caucus and other conservative members who never felt ideologically in sync with the Californian. He announced in August that he has a blood cancer known as multiple myeloma and was undergoing treatment.He returned to the Capitol last month and said his treatment was going well. Aside from health concerns, some Republicans also might not want to replace one establishment figure with another atop the conference.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)
The far-right lawmaker who led the push to oust McCarthy, has floated Scalise as a possible replacement. He said the leader shouldn’t be passed over for speaker because of his health issues.
Rep. Tom Emmer (Minn.)
The former hockey player and GOP whip is now the conference’s third-ranking member, so, like Scalise, it makes sense that he would be in the mix. As the two-time chair of the GOP’s national House campaign arm, he has relationships with about two dozen Republicans he helped elect, and as whip he has been…
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