McCarthy was ousted in a flash. Brace for conflict and chaos as Republicans try to replace him.

Don't hold your breath.

Rebel House Republicans ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a flash last week, but the process of replacing him is poised to be messy and maybe long, creating conflict and chaos until it’s done.

The GOP caucus is set to gather Tuesday to hear from contenders Jim Jordan of Ohio and Steve Scalise of Louisiana, then vote on Wednesday. But there is no guarantee and few indications so far that either of them can command the 217 votes to win, a margin that means losing no more than four of its members.

Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, one of those who voted to kick out McCarthy, suggested a strategy to force consensus.

“I think we lock the doors, and we have very limited bathroom breaks and food breaks and make sure we get the job done," he said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

At stake is the top Republican job in town, second in line of succession to the presidency and the face of the congressional GOP during a time of fierce partisanship. Both House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jordan and Majority Leader Scalise are conservatives. But Jordan is a firebrand and a founder of the combative Freedom Caucus − and now has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump − while Scalise has been a formidable fundraiser and has a more moderate manner, if not a more moderate voting record.

Both men now claim a few dozen endorsements from their colleagues.

"I think I'm the one candidate who can unite our conference," Jordan said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," "and then who can go tell the country what we’re doing here, the things we’re working on, the things that matter to them and how it matters to them and how it impacts them and their family."

Nothing else can get done on the floor of the House until the new speaker is sworn in. That would include congressional approval of additional aid to Israel to repel this weekend's deadly Hamas assault and the government shutdown that looms in six weeks, on Nov. 17.

"Anytime you have chaos and dysfunction, it is destructive and destabilizing, and given the situation in the Middle East right now, given the situation in Ukraine, there are a lot of challenges around the globe," New York Rep. Mike Lawler, a moderate Republican, said on CNN's "State of the Union." "Not having a House speaker is a major crisis."

He called for reinstating McCarthy, a distant prospect.

Americans have their own job description for the new speaker. An overwhelming 71% of those surveyed by CBS News/YouGov said they want someone who will work with Democrats. The online poll of 2,155 adults Oct. 4-6 has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. A 51% majority also want someone who will “stand up to the ‘MAGA’ movement,” that is, the Trump-aligned forces that fueled McCarthy’s ouster.

But that’s not the view of Republicans: 59% want a speaker who will be loyal to Trump, and 72% want the new leader to try to impeach President Joe Biden.

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who brought the parliamentary challenge that led to McCarthy’s ouster, rejected predictions that electing his replacement could take weeks. “We’ll have a new speaker next week, and we’ll be prepared to do our work,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, who also voted to oust McCarthy, predicted on CBS' "Face the Nation" that the process “could be quick, and it could be cathartic for the party.”

Other analysts were less sanguine about how long it would take and how nasty it would be. McCarthy prevailed in January only after enduring an unprecedented 15 rounds of voting.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called it "a Republican civil war."

It is unlikely that some sort of bipartisan candidate will emerge with support from more moderate members of both parties. House Democrats voted with the Freedom Caucus to oust McCarthy, and they are expected to watch, and decry, the struggles on the other side of the aisle.

“It’s my hope that our Republican colleagues get their act together, can settle on a speaker who can receive 217 votes and that we can move forward to get the business of the American people done,” Jeffries said on CNN. (The number is 217 rather than 218 because there are two vacancies in the House.)

He said Democrats were “ready, willing and able to find common ground” on big issues, noting that Democrats provided a majority of the votes needed to raise the debt ceiling and to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open, at least until next month.

Of course, that deal sparked the challenge to McCarthy, a lesson that presumably won’t be lost on his successor.

Whoever that might be. And whenever they win the job.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who's replacing Kevin McCarthy? GOP braces for chaos in speaker search