2 in 3 say House should elect Speaker as soon as possible: survey

Slightly more than 2 in 3 respondents in a new survey said the House should elect a Speaker as soon as possible as the lower chamber approaches nearly three weeks without one amidst intense GOP division.

The USA Today/Suffolk University poll found 67 percent of those surveyed said the House should elect a Speaker as soon as possible. Meanwhile, a quarter of respondents said they do not care whether a Speaker is elected, claiming the situation curbs congressional spending of taxpayer money, USA Today noted.

The push to elect a Speaker soon was observed across party lines, with 86 percent of Democrats, 57 percent of Republicans and 59 percent of independents supporting the election of a Speaker as soon as possible.

The House has been in a state of paralysis following the historic ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was removed from the position in a 216-210 vote. Eight Republicans joined all House Democrats in voting to oust McCarthy.

As a result, the House has not passed any bills, including those related to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza or government spending as a Nov. 17 funding deadline looms.

USA Today noted some participants in the poll expressed concerns over the House’s inability to function without a Speaker, while others argued the lower chamber does not do much anyway.

In the days that followed McCarthy’s ouster, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (La.) initially clinched the GOP’s support and beat Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) for the GOP nomination, but he dropped out a day later when it became apparent he would not shore up 217 votes.

Jordan quickly put his name back in the ring and secured the nomination against Rep. Austin Scott (Ga.). Jordan, however, failed to reach 217 votes on three ballots last week and lost more GOP support with each round.

Following the third vote last Friday, the House GOP voted by secret ballot to no longer back Jordan, sending the lower chamber back to square one after a chaotic two weeks.

Nine Republicans have now announced their bid for Speaker, with a candidate forum expected to take place at 6:30 p.m. Monday. The House will move to an internal nomination election at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The new poll was conducted among 1,000 registered voters from Oct. 17-20. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

Updated at 9:50 a.m.