McCarthy may jump into U.S. House speaker race, as crises overseas mount

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans will gather behind closed doors beginning Monday night in an attempt to decide who should become the chamber’s next speaker, a race with a renewed sense of urgency with ally Israel now at war and the House in paralysis.

Louisiana’s Steve Scalise and Ohio’s Jim Jordan are the only candidates officially campaigning for the gavel, though California’s Kevin McCarthy, who was removed from the role just last week, left the door open to taking on the job once again.

“That’s a decision for the (House Republican) conference,” McCarthy said during a Monday morning press conference. Oklahoma’s Kevin Hern, another potential candidate, said over the weekend he would not seek the post.

House Republicans are set to meet both Monday night and Tuesday in private to discuss where the party should go in the months ahead and who should lead them. They are expected to vote behind closed doors on Wednesday on who should become the next speaker, though no floor vote following that has yet been scheduled. In the meantime, the House has no schedule set for usual floor business such as considering bills.