Hern bows out of speaker’s race, calls for unity in GOP conference

Rep. Kevin Hern announced in a letter to his fellow conservative lawmakers that he would not be throwing his name into the contest to be the next speaker of the House. 

Mr. Hern’s decision to step back from the race means that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio are the only two official candidates vying for the gavel.

Mr. Jordan, a founder of the House Freedom Caucus who now chairs the Judiciary Committee, on Friday received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement for the speaker job, giving him a major boost.

Mr. Scalise is a longtime member of leadership who is extremely popular in the conference and has strong ties to Mr. Trump. He is making the case that his fundraising prowess makes him a more valuable speaker with a better ability to protect incumbents and grow the GOP majority.

Mr. Hern, Oklahoma Republican, said that he was encouraged by his colleagues to make a run for the speakership following the historic ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy. But after speaking with each member of the conference, he opted to bow out of a possible three-way race. 

“House Republicans must unify — and do it fast. It’s clear to me that a three-man race for speaker will only draw this process out longer, creating further division which would make it harder for any candidate to reach 217 votes,” Mr. Hern said. “For these reasons, I want two good friends of mine, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, to have the opportunity to earn 217 votes from our conference.”

Mr. McCarthy’s ouster, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, has left a power vacuum in the lower chamber amid another countdown to possible government shutdown. 

Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, was able to advance a 45-day stopgap spending bill to keep the government open to give lawmakers more time to pass the rest of a dozen spending bills needed to fund the government. 

But using Democratic votes to do so was ultimately what triggered the motion to vacate, and a historic vote to kick the longtime figurehead of GOP leadership from the pinnacle of power in the House. 

Now, lawmakers are scrambling to replace him. 

Speaker pro tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina has scheduled a candidate forum on Tuesday where Mr. Scalise and Mr. Jordan are expected to stump for the job. Then lawmakers will try to find unity on Wednesday in electing a nominee before heading to the House floor for a vote.

Over a quarter of the conference has publicly thrown support behind a candidate, but there is no clear favorite yet, according to The Washington Times’ whip count. Some conservative lawmakers believe consensus on a nominee will be hard to find, and expect the race to replace Mr. McCarthy will turn into a long, protracted slog.

Mr. Trump has said that in an emergency, he would step in as a placeholder speaker until House Republicans find unity. While he is extremely popular in the conference, Mr. Trump’s time is already divided between running for president and defending himself in several trials.

Meanwhile, the eight Republicans that booted Mr. McCarthy have not landed on a candidate they would like to see as speaker. 

“Whatever happens next, our conference must commit to stay in the room, turn off our phones, and work together until we have a candidate who can earn 217 Republican votes,” Mr. Hern said. “When we leave that room and head to the House floor, we must show the world that we are united in support behind our speaker and ready to do the work we were elected to do.”

• Kerry Picket contributed to this report.