The House will elect a new speaker on Oct. 29, Speaker John Boehner announced on Monday.
Boehner, R-Ohio, who will resign on Oct. 30, also pushed back votes for other GOP leadership positions in order to give Republicans more time to assess their options.
The GOP was originally expected to vote on leadership positions this Thursday, Oct. 8. But now, Boehner said lawmakers would vote on other GOP leadership posts after the Oct. 29 floor vote for speaker.
The House GOP is set to meet at noon on Thursday, Oct. 8, to select their pick for speaker. The victor will need to win 125 votes, or a simple majority of Republicans present at the meeting, to become “speaker nominee” of the House GOP.
When the full House votes for speaker, the winner must garner 218 votes, a threshold that could be hard for a GOP candidate to reach given considerable division within the GOP conference.
Boehner said allowing the winner to set the dates for the rest of the leadership elections “will ensure House Republicans have a strong, unified team to lead our conference and focus on the American people’s priorities.”
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is considered the leading candidate for speaker, but may lack the 218 votes, some GOP lawmakers said.
House Government and Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Daniel Webster, R-Fla., are also running.
