Two US House Republicans expected to make pitch for speaker's gavel

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republicans expect to hear pitches from at least two colleagues on Tuesday vying for the powerful role of speaker, under mounting pressure from a war in the Middle East and another looming government shutdown.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan were due to speak to a closed-door evening forum the day before party members were expected to vote on a nominee by secret ballot.

Each candidate is expected to make a 20-minute presentation. The conference could also vote on a proposal aimed at keeping internal disagreements behind closed doors by requiring any nominee to win 217 Republican votes, enough to elect the next speaker on the House floor over Democratic opposition.

The narrowly divided caucus raised some worries that neither candidate would be able to win enough support to be elected speaker in the first round of voting.

"We need to get this done tomorrow," Scalise told reporters as he left a meeting with Florida Republicans, adding it was time to get the House "back to work."

Republicans hold a narrow 221-212 majority, which made it possible for a fraction of their members to force Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted as speaker last week, to endure 15 grueling floor votes to become speaker in January.

"We need to handle this inside the caucus and not go through what we did in January," said Representative Ralph Norman, who opposed McCarthy at the time.

McCarthy on Monday said he would take the job back if asked to by House Republicans but on Tuesday told reporters, "I asked them please not to nominate me."

More than 90 Republicans have called for raising the threshold for choosing a nominee. But others warn that requiring 217 votes would still give commanding sway to a minority of party members.

It took only eight Republicans to oust McCarthy last week, a fact that could make leading the caucus a challenge for any new speaker. While McCarthy was the first speaker to be ousted in a formal vote, the last two Republicans to hold the job wound up leaving under pressure from party hardliners.

FUNDING DEADLINE

Republicans may also have to tackle other thorny issues, including how to move forward on government funding for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 and whether to change the rule that allowed just one lawmaker to call a vote to oust McCarthy. Current government funding expires on Nov. 17.

Jordan, a prominent hardline conservative backed by former President Donald Trump, appeared to have an edge in support heading into Tuesday's meeting.

Scalise appeared to have the support of many veteran and establishment Republicans including party leaders, while Jordan drew endorsements from others including Trump-style populists.

Representative Patrick McHenry, who is standing in as interim speaker, has been seen as a possible fallback candidate if no one else wins enough votes. But McHenry told reporters on Thursday that he has not spoken to colleagues about running, adding that there are two candidates.

Until a new speaker is chosen, the House cannot take action. That fact has brought new pressure to bear on Republicans after Israel declared war on Sunday following an attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas that has prompted calls for more U.S. military aid. Some Republicans are hoping to have a new speaker in place as early as Thursday.

(Reporting by David Morgan, additional reporting by Moira Warburton and Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone, Lincoln Feast and Grant McCool)