Who Will Be the New House Speaker? Possible Candidates to Replace Kevin McCarthy

McCarthy became the first House speaker in U.S. history to be stripped of his role during a legislative term on Tuesday

Republican Kevin McCarthy became the first speaker of the House in U.S. history to be stripped of his role during a legislative term, following the success of an unprecedented vote to remove him from the nation's third-highest post on Tuesday.

The recall vote saw the House vote 216-210 to strip McCarthy of his leadership role. After the vote, the House clerk announced Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina had been appointed temporary speaker pro tempore (McCarthy, 58, picked McHenry, 47, for the role in January, though the North Carolina Republican's role was not announced at the time due to security concerns).

McCarthy later told Republicans he would not run for speaker again, leading many to wonder who will replace him.

Below are the lawmakers currently rumored to be mulling a run for the speakership.

Jim Jordan

Far-right Republican Jim Jordan, a close ally to former President Donald Trump, was the first to announce that he intends to run to replace McCarthy as House speaker. The Ohio lawmaker told reporters on Wednesday, “We need to unite the conference,” per NBC News.

According to reports, Jordan told at least one reporter that he won't support aid to Ukraine if elected speaker — a sign that he's looking to shore up support from those like Gaetz, who demanded that McCarthy no longer pledge financial support to the country amid its ongoing war with Russia.

Steve Scalise

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has emerged as one of the leading contenders to replace McCarthy, announcing his candidacy in a two-page letter on Wednesday.

The 57-year-old Louisiana congressman was, in Nov. 2022, elected by his Republican colleagues to serve as House majority leader — the second-highest leadership position in the lower chamber, putting him directly behind McCarthy (or, now, McHenry).

In August, Scalise announced he had been "diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a very treatable blood cancer," and said he plans to keep working while he is being treated.

Tom Emmer

Matt Gaetz — who led the charge to oust McCarthy — floated Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer as a possible replacement in a Newsmax interview in September, saying the 62-year-old has "credibility."

Emmer, currently the House majority whip, said earlier this week he supports McCarthy, and has offered no indication yet that he might run to replace him.

Byron Donalds

Byron Donalds' name was floated as a potential House speaker back in January, when McCarthy was elected after a contentious 15 rounds of voting at the start of the legislative session. The Florida lawmaker received 21 votes in early rounds of voting (a sizable enough portion that McCarthy was initially unable to get the majority) and has sought GOP leadership posts prior to that. In November, he unsuccessfully challenged New York Rep. Elise Stefanik for the role of conference chair, ultimately losing in a closed-door vote.

Donald Trump

While an incredibly unlikely scenario, it is at least possible that a former president could replace McCarthy, as non-House members can technically serve as speaker. Some Republicans have floated Trump's name, including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wrote on X, "The only candidate for Speaker I am currently supporting is President Donald J. Trump."

Fox New host Sean Hannity has also added fuel to the fire, saying in his Tuesday broadcast that “sources” say some Republicans have contacted Trump about the idea.

Forbes reports that Trump himself has not ruled it out, and told reporters this week, “a lot of people have been calling me about speaker,” before adding, “all I can say is we will do whatever is best for the country and other Republican Party and people.” Still, the outlet notes that Trump is currently in the midst of a 2024 presidential campaign, and juggling the fallout of a civil fraud trial and four criminal indictments.

Those indictments could also prove a hurdle to becoming House speaker, as GOP conference rules maintain that any party leader indicted for a felony with a sentence of at least two years must step aside. Trump has been charged with 91 criminal counts in 2023.

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