Scalise Struggles to Unite Fractured House GOP for Speaker Bid

House Republicans are deeply divided as they attempt to elect a new speaker, with Steve Scalise struggling to secure enough votes after winning the party's nomination.

Scalise needs 217 votes to win the speakership on the House floor but is short of that number, even after beating Jim Jordan in the GOP conference vote.

The chaotic speaker election sends a message of dysfunction and highlights internal divides in the Republican party.

Hardliners like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert have refused to back Scalise so far, despite meetings with him.

If Scalise does become speaker, he will face the same challenges McCarthy did, including the threat of a government shutdown and pressure from the far right.