Marjorie Taylor Greene Prefers Scalise Fight Cancer Over Being Speaker

Amid ongoing voting for a new Speaker of the House, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Wednesday she will be voting for Republican Representative Jim Jordan, preferring House Majority Leader Steve Scalise to fight his cancer diagnosis over taking on the role of Speaker.

House Republicans were set to meet Wednesday in hopes of agreeing on which person to vote for to replace California Representative Kevin McCarthy, who drew conservative revolt after working with Democrats on a short-term bill to avert a government shutdown. The House last week voted to remove McCarthy after Representative Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, introduced a motion to vacate, sending Congress into chaos as it has only a matter of weeks to pass a full appropriations bill. While both Scalise of Louisiana and Jordan of Ohio are running for Speaker, it remains unclear whether either candidate would be able to secure 218 votes.

In a post shared to X, formerly Twitter, Greene announced she will be voting for Jordan on the House floor while stating she would rather see Scalise defeat cancer more than see him take on the difficult role as Speaker.

"I just voted for Jim Jordan for Speaker on a private ballot in conference, and I will be voting for Jim Jordan on the House floor. I like Steve Scalise, and I like him so much that I want to see him defeat cancer more than sacrifice his health in the most difficult position in Congress. I lost my father to cancer and it's a very serious battle," Greene wrote on X.

Scalise was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer known as multiple myeloma in August and has been undergoing treatment.

Shortly after announcing his diagnosis, Scalise, 57, said he will continue to serve in the House as he described the cancer as "very treatable" and said it was detected early.

In her post, Greene also reiterated her list of demands to Republican candidates aiming to become the next Speaker. As Greene previously took to X to share that she has several "red lines" for any potential Republican speaker on a range of cultural issues that have divided the country and the party.

"We need a Speaker who is able to put their full efforts into defeating the communist democrats and save America. We must stop funding foreign wars—Ukraine. We must stop the weaponized government and hold them accountable. We must secure our border. We must protect our kids. And we need a full leadership team dedicated to this fight in these unprecedented times," Greene added.

"No matter who the next Speaker is my issues and red lines do not change. Stop funding a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine. No money for COVID anything. Stop the weaponized government. Stop transgender surgeries on kids. Secure our border. Put America First!" Greene had previously posted on Wednesday.

While Greene's demands reflect the challenge for a Republican Speaker, voting continues as the unprecedented events continue to unfold.

Newsweek has reached out to Greene and Scalise spokespersons via email for comment.