The Republican majority in the House of Representatives is deadlocked a week after Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster, with lawmakers unable to coalesce around a new leader in a stalemate that threatens to keep Congress partially shuttered indefinitely.

Tuesday night saw two leading contenders for the gavel, Majority Leader Steve Scalise

(R-La.)

and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan

(R-Ohio)

, colleagues spoke behind closed doors at a candidates forum. But they seemed to divide the vote.

McCarthy

(R-Bakersfield)

meanwhile, was openly willing to reclaim the gavel he had just lost, but was seen by many as a long-term option unlikely to win back the handful of hardliners who had just ousted him.

“We’re going to get the House back to work,” Scalise said Tuesday before the meeting.

Majority Republicans in the House of Representatives aimed to operate as a team and run the government more like a business, but have strayed far from that goal. Only ten months into power, the historic impeachment of their Speaker of the House of Representatives (a first in the US) and the protracted power struggle it has unleashed are undermining the Republicans’ ability to govern in an age of crisis at home and abroad.

As Republicans in the House of Representatives move toward early elections on Wednesday aimed at finding a new candidate for the presidency, the far-right coalition of lawmakers that ousted McCarthy has shown what a big role a few lawmakers can play in electing of the successor.

This is a difficult conference to lead, said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.). Lots of free agents.

Both Scalise and Jordan are working frantically to shore up support. Both easily win dozens of supporters and could win the Republican majority, about 110 votes.

But it is unclear whether Scalise or Jordan can muster the 217 votes ultimately needed in a floor vote to overcome Democrats’ opposition. Voting could take place as early as Wednesday.

Many Republicans want to avoid the spectacle of a messy floor fight in the House of Representatives, like the grueling brawl in January when McCarthy became speaker.

We were in a similar situation to January, said Doug Heye, a former Republican leadership aide, adding that the political optics of the feud “look terrible” to American voters.

Some have proposed a rule change that Rep. Patrick

T

McHenry (RN.C.), the interim speaker pro tempore, is considering ahead of a party meeting early Wednesday to ensure a majority vote behind closed doors before nominating the nominee for a full floor vote in the House of Representatives.

McCarthy himself seemed to agree with a consensus approach. They shouldn’t leave there until they decide they have enough votes for whoever they’re speaking to, McCarthy said.

But if the rules are not changed, Republican lawmakers are expected to agree to a majority victory process. Whichever candidate wins in the internal private vote will receive the full support of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

If trust among Republicans in the House of Representatives is low and tensions are high, there is no guarantee that those normal protocols can be questioned.

The party will have to search for its soul and votes, Heye said.

Although both are right-wing conservatives, neither Scalise nor Jordan are McCarthy’s heir apparent.

Scalise, as the second-place Republican, would be next in line for the gavel and is seen as a hero among colleagues for surviving serious injuries from a mass shooting at a congressional baseball game practice in 2017. Now he is battling blood cancer, the Louisianan is not a clear lock.

Jordan is a high-profile political powerhouse known for his close alliance with Donald Trump, especially as the then-president worked to overturn the results of the 2020 election, leading to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Trump has supported Jordan’s bid for the gavel.

Several lawmakers, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who engineered McCarthy’s ouster, said they would be willing to support Scalise or Jordan.

I think it’s a competitive race for speaker because we have two greats, said Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.).

Barr said he was working to secure votes for Scalise but would be comfortable with either candidate.

Others, however, especially the more centrist-conservative Republicans from districts closely divided between the parties, are holding out for new elections.

“Personally, I’m still with McCarthy,” said Rep. David Valadao

(R-Hanford)

,

a Republican

who represents a California district not far from the former speaker’s district.

Let’s see how that turns out, but I do know that a large percentage of the members want to be there with him too.

Moving to the evening forum, McCarthy emphasized that he is not a candidate for speaker at this time and encouraged his colleagues to resolve the matter internally on Wednesday before advancing a candidate for a vote in the full House.

But the California Republican winked at his own brief record as speaker who was ousted by the far-right flank after pushing Congress to pass an emergency bill to prevent a disruptive federal government shutdown.

I think it’s important that whoever takes that job is willing to risk the job because he’s doing what’s right for the American public, McCarthy said.

For now, McHenry is effectively in charge. He has shown little interest in expanding his power beyond his assigned role as interim leader charged with ensuring the election of the next chairman.

This role was created in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to ensure continuity of government. McHenry’s name was at the top of the list McCarthy submitted when he became speaker in January.

While some Republicans and Democrats are open to empowering McHenry the longer he holds the temporary position, that seems unlikely as the speaker’s battles continue.

McHenry told reporters my goal is to stick to the schedule

to have

Hold elections for the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday. He moved quickly in and out of the House during a brief session on Tuesday, with no business being conducted.