Steve Scalise Drops Out of House Speaker Race
Republican Steve Scalise has ended his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure the votes to win the gavel. Scalise told GOP colleagues at a closed-door meeting late Thursday of his decision. Next steps are uncertain as the House is now essentially closed while the Republican majority tries to elect a speaker after ousting Kevin McCarthy from the job.
Transcript
00:00 Hey, first let me, I know we've been following this, it's been quite a journey.
00:05 And there's still a long way to go.
00:08 I just shared with my colleagues, and I'm withdrawing my name as a candidate for the Speaker-designee.
00:15 If you look at over the last few weeks, if you look at where our conference is, there's still work to be done.
00:22 Our conference still has to come together, and it is not there.
00:28 There are still some people that have their own agendas, and I was very clear,
00:32 we have to have everybody put their agendas on the side and focus on what this country needs.
00:39 This country is counting on us to come back together.
00:42 This House of Representatives needs a Speaker, and we need to open up the House again.
00:49 But clearly, not everybody is there, and there's still schisms that have to get resolved.
00:57 I never came here for a title. I've had some great titles.
01:00 I'm the Majority Leader of the House, and I love the job I have.
01:05 I've had big challenges in my life.
01:07 I've been tested in ways that really put perspective on life, really the 2017 shooting,
01:13 when I didn't know if I was going to make it out alive, taught me what's important in life.
01:18 And that's my family, my faith, and I'm blessed beyond belief.
01:24 I have absolutely all the right perspective, and I still have a deep, deep passion
01:31 for making sure we get our country back on track and get our conference fixed again.
01:38 But there are some folks that really need to look in the mirror over the next couple of days
01:42 and decide are we going to get it back on track, are they going to try to pursue their own agenda.
01:47 You can't do both, and I think we're going to get there.
01:50 I was very clear in that room that ultimately we have to come together for the country.
01:58 But I never came here for a title, and it's much bigger than me, and it's much bigger than anybody else.
02:04 And nobody's going to use me as an excuse to hold back our ability to get the House opened again.
02:11 We still need to get a speaker, and I'm going to continue to push as hard as we can
02:17 to make that happen as quickly as it has to happen.
02:21 But it wasn't going to happen. It wasn't going to happen today.
02:24 It wasn't going to happen tomorrow. It needs to happen soon.
02:27 But I'm withdrawing my name, and I appreciate the interest you all have had along the way.
02:32 We still have work to do. We have to get this done.
02:35 [unclear dialogue]
02:38 I'm not cutting no deals with anybody. I'm sure there will be a lot of people that look at it.
02:42 But it's got to be people that aren't doing it for themselves and their own personal interests,
02:47 and the folks that have their own personal interests in mind shouldn't be interested in it.
02:53 [unclear dialogue]