US Congressman Steve Scalise strives to become next House Speaker
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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has emerged as one of the main candidates to succeed Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.
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Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., who leads a conservative faction of lawmakers in the Republican Study Committee, speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 19, 2014. (AP)
US House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is working behind the scenes to try grabbing now ousted Congressman Kevin McCarthy's seat as House Speaker, Fox News reported on Tuesday, citing close sources.
Ahead of a possible vote on Wednesday, Scalise has been making calls behind the scenes in a bid to become the next House Speaker, the report added.
US Congressman Matt Gaetz, who pushed to oust McCarthy, suggested to reporters earlier on Tuesday that either Scalise or US Congressman Tom Emmer would make good speakers, adding that he spoke with Emmer but declined to disclose the content of their conversation.
Gaetz added that he would like to hear from Scalise about a prospective speaker candidacy before nominating him, but Scalise is the "type of person" Gaetz could see himself supporting.
Here's what you need to know
Earlier on Tuesday, Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a historic rebellion by far-right Republicans furious at his cooperation with Democrats.
For the first time in its 234-year history, the House backed a resolution "to vacate the office of the speaker" with a 216-210 vote setting the stage for an unprecedented contest to replace McCarthy a year before the presidential election.
Read next: McCarthy threatened by hardliners after shutdown averted
The ouster was supported by only a handful of right-wing Republican hardliners. However, the House was almost evenly divided and with Democrats joining eight rebel Republicans rather than riding to McCarthy's rescue, he had no way to survive.
No other speaker has been ousted in US history.
The 58-year-old had sparked fury among conservatives when he passed a bipartisan stopgap funding measure at the weekend backed by the White House to avert a government shutdown.
