Today, House Majority Leader Scalise (R-La.) announced to his colleagues his withdrawal from the race for Speaker of the House. Following his announcement, he spoke to the press about his decision. See his full statement below:
Leader Scalise’s remarks:
“I know we've been following this. It's been quite a journey and there's still a long way to go. I just shared with my colleagues that I'm withdrawing my name as a candidate for the Speaker-designee.
“If you look at — over the last few weeks — if you look at where our conference is, there's still work to be done. Our conference still has to come together and is not there.
“There are still some people that have their own agendas and I was very clear: We have to have everybody put their agendas on the side and focus on what this country needs. This country is counting on us to come back together. This House of Representatives needs a Speaker and we need to open up the House again.
“But clearly, not everybody is there, and there [are] still schisms that have to get resolved. I never came here for a title. I've had some great titles. I am the Majority leader of the House, and I love the job I have.
“I've had big challenges in my life. I've been tested in ways that really put perspective on life. Really the 2017 shooting — when I didn't know if I was going to make it out alive — taught me what's important in life and that's my family, my faith, and I'm blessed beyond belief. I have absolutely all the right perspective and I still have a deep, deep passion for making sure we get our country back on track and get our conference fixed again.
“But there are some folks [who] really need to look in the mirror over the next couple of days and decide: Are we going to get it back on track? Or they're going to try to pursue their own agenda? You can't do both and I think we're going get there. I was very clear in that room that, ultimately, we have to come together for the country.
“But I never came here for a title, and it's much bigger than me, and it's much bigger than anybody else. And nobody is going to use me as an excuse to hold back our ability to get the House opened again. We still need to get a Speaker and I'm going to continue to push as hard as we can to make that happen as quickly as it has to happen. But it wasn't going to happen.
“It wasn’t going to happen today. [It] wasn't going to happen tomorrow. It needs to happen soon. But I withdraw my name and I appreciate the interest you all had along the way. We still have work to do. We have to get this done.
“I cut no deals with anybody. There will be a lot of people that look at it, but it's got to be people that aren't doing it for themselves and their own personal interests, and the folks that have their own personal interests in mind shouldn’t be interested in it.”
