Relatively unknown but ambitious, Georgia Rep. Austin Scott launched his second campaign in a week for House speaker with a call for Republican unity. Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker three weeks ago and House Republicans hope to select a nominee from nine aspirants this week.
“If we are going to be the majority, we need to act like the majority, and that means we have to do the right things the right way,” said Scott, a mainstream conservative, at the end of last week. “I supported and voted for Rep. Jim Jordan to be the Speaker of the House. Now that he has withdrawn, I am running again to be the Speaker of the House.”
Scott and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota voted to confirm President Biden’s election on Jan 6, 2021, after supporters of former president Donald Trump delayed the counting of electoral votes. The other candidates for House speaker — Jack Bergman of Michigan, Byron Donalds of Florida, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, Gary Palmer of Alabama, and Pete Sessions of Texas — voted to overturn Biden’s election. So did McCarthy and the initial GOP nominees to replace him, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.
Jordan defeated Scott, 121-81, in a vote 10 days ago among House Republicans that made Jordan the party’s nominee for speaker but also revealed Jordan’s limited support. A former insurance broker, Scott supported McCarthy before he was ousted and called the Republicans who voted to depose McCarthy “nothing but grifters.”