Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) lashed out at Republicans on Friday for leveraging Steve Scalise‘s (R-La.) cancer diagnosis as a rationale against his bid for the House Speaker role.
What Happened: Raskin expressed his astonishment that fellow GOP members, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump, brought up Scalise’s health issues only after he secured the conference’s nomination for the Speaker’s position.
In a message posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Raskin said, “I'm dumbfounded that GOP Members & Trump!) used Steve Scalise's cancer as a reason to abandon him on the House floor—after nominating him for the job!”
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"When I came down with cancer, my Caucus colleagues rallied around to support me as Ranking Dem on Oversight," said Raskin, who successfully battled diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in 2022.
Why It Matters: The House GOP conference voted on Wednesday to nominate Scalise as Speaker with a 113-99 majority. However, despite winning the nomination, Scalise ended his bid to become House speaker late Thursday after hardline holdouts refused to back the GOP nominee.
Scalise, diagnosed with a type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma in August, had previously addressed his condition, stating his doctor’s clearance to run for the Speakership. However, support for his candidacy started to wane, with more members citing his health as the reason for their opposition.
The GOP candidate, in a narrowly split House, can only afford to lose four Republican votes to win the majority, assuming a party-line vote and excluding any “present” votes or absences.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio.) was selected Friday as the GOP’s nominee for House speaker after Scalise withdrew his candidacy.
Photo by Phil Pasquini on Shutterstock
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