A televised Fox News forum for the candidates in the running to become Speaker of the House of Representatives was canceled on Friday after members of Congress objected to the potential “media circus.” The broadcast event, originally scheduled for Monday night, would have featured confirmed candidates Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Steve Scalise (R-LA), as well as a possible third contender.
The Speaker’s chair currently sits vacant following the ousting of Kevin McCarthy earlier this week at the hands of disgruntled Republicans. As Valuetainment previously reported, a coalition of eight Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) backed a motion to vacate the speakership after McCarthy failed to deliver key Republican agenda items. The motion drew support from every House Democrat to overcome the narrow Republican majority.
With Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) temporarily serving as acting Speaker, multiple candidates have been named as McCarthy’s possible replacement. Foremost among them are House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, but other wildcard candidates—including former President Donald Trump—have been floated by members of Congress.
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The now-canceled Fox News forum was intended to give a public platform to Jordan and Scalise, as well as Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern (R-OK), who has not declared for the speakership but is exploring a bid. However, the announcement of the Monday night “exclusive joint interview” hosted by Bret Baier drew outrage from Republican members of the House. According to the representatives who addressed the issue, the business of selecting the Speaker should be conducted internally, not broadcast live on national television.
After staffers for Jordan proposed delaying the forum until after a closed-door Republican Party meeting on Tuesday, Hern pulled out entirely. “I still haven’t made a decision on my candidacy for speaker, but I know one thing for sure. I will not be participating in the televised debate,” Hern wrote on X.
I still haven’t made a decision on my candidacy for speaker, but I know one thing for sure.
I will not be participating in the televised debate.
We need to make this decision as a conference, not on TV. The Republican conference needs a family discussion.
— Congressman Kevin Hern (@repkevinhern) October 6, 2023
Scalise, the establishment pick for the speakership, was next to pull out, followed soon after by Jordan. The two reportedly spoke with one another and mutually decided that the forum would not be in the party’s best interest.
The Republicans will now proceed with handling the selection internally at Tuesday’s meeting, with a House vote to follow on Wednesday. The Republican nominee will go up against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in a likely party-line vote.
However, with no clear frontrunner, the debate over the nomination and subsequent vote will likely be fierce. McCarthy’s confirmation in January required 15 rounds of voting before Republicans accepted him.
Each of the three possible nominees makes a strong argument for their candidacy. Hern leads the House’s largest conservative caucus, Scalise boasts the largest base of support within the party, and Jordan has the endorsement of the more radical elements that ousted McCarthy. Jordan also notably secured the “Complete & Total Endorsement” of former President Donald Trump late on Thursday.
Trump, the current Republican frontrunner for president, has also been raised as a possibility for the speakership. The former president indicated that his primary focus is returning to the White House, but he suggested that he is willing to hold the speakership temporarily if it helped the party.
“I have been asked to speak as a unifier because I have so many friends in Congress,” Trump said on Friday. “If they don’t get the vote, they have asked me if I would consider taking the speakership until they get somebody longer-term, because I am running for president. They have asked me if I would take it for a short period of time for the party, until they come to a conclusion — I’m not doing it because I want to — I will do it if necessary, should they not be able to make their decision,”
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