Parliamentary crisis in the United States: the Republican candidate withdrew from the race

Steve Scalise, the Republican nominee for speaker of the US House of Representatives, withdrew his candidacy yesterday after disagreements in the party could not be resolved.

After Scalise withdrew his candidacy, the US House of Representatives was left without a speaker for the tenth consecutive day. The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, a member of the Republican Party, was voted out of office in the House of Representatives on October 4, following a disagreement within the party.

Scalise, Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, became a candidate for Speaker of the House by receiving more votes than Jim Jordan in the Republican caucus on October 11.

Scalise, the Republicans’ official nominee, needed to receive at least 217 votes to become speaker of the House of Representatives. Scalise had not yet gotten 217 votes because some Republicans said they would not support him.

Republicans have 221 seats in the House of Representatives and Democrats have 212 seats. Republican Patrick McHenry temporarily took over as president until a new president was elected.

Republicans could not reach an agreement on who their nominee would be at their meeting yesterday. (Reuters)