Who is Steve Scalise, the Republican nominee for speaker of the US House? How likely is he to succeed?

 Who is Steve Scalise, the Republican nominee for speaker of the US House? How likely is he to succeed?

Following Kevin McCarthy's historic removal as speaker of the House of Representatives by a vote of no-confidence, Republicans chose Steve Scalise as their candidate on Wednesday.

In a closed-door conference of GOP House members, Louisiana's Scalise defeated Ohio's Jim Jordan, the chairman of the judiciary committee, 113 to 99. 

To win, Scalise needs 217 votes to become the next speaker of the House. The House convened a short session at 3 p.m. ET before adjourning; however, no vote was taken on the topic that day, as reported by various GOP members and bipartisan staff, according to an NBC News report. 

Steve Scalise: who is he?

Some people see the Louisiana congressman, who is fighting blood cancer, as a hero for escaping a gunshot in 2017 that targeted politicians during a congressional baseball practice.

After that, Scalise stated, "We have a lot of work to do.

"We need to make sure we'll be sending a message to people all over the world, that the House is open to doing what is best for the public business," she said. 

What is the likelihood of winning?

On the proposal, Republican legislators are sharply split. 

In what will undoubtedly be a tight vote of the whole House, it is questionable if legislators who supported Jordan, the hardliner endorsed by Donald Trump, would support Scalise. Democratic leader and New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries will be the party's nominee to challenge the Republican candidate.

After the vote, Jordan noted simply that the GOP majority "is divided."

Jordan did, however, make the offer to nominate Scalise on the spot, as a gesture of support before a vote.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a leader from the center, declared: "We do need to get a speaker in place so we can govern."

"I will wholeheartedly support Steve," was what we ought to have heard today following the vote count. We should go behind him, Bacon remarked. We weren't aware of it.

McCarthy was ousted in a drive by the far-right fringe after the speaker led Congress to pass legislation that prevented a government shutdown, and neither Scalise nor Jordan were viewed as the successor apparent.

All three males have been at this location previously. They were competing for leadership in a similar way in 2018, with McCarthy and Scalise continuing their feud to this day.