Who’s in, who’s out of the race to become US House speaker?

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The dome of the U.S. Capitol building is reflected in a car window, on the morning of the first day of the 118th Congress in Washington, DC, U.S., January 3, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Jon Cherry/File)

WASHINGTON (Reuters): Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday are holding closed-door votes as they try to pick a new speaker, with seven members of the caucus seeking the role.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) talks to reporters after dropping out of the race for Speaker of the House after he lost a secret ballot vote by members of the Republican conference on whether he should drop out of the race at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., October 20, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Here are the current candidates seeking to take the job that has been vacant since Oct. 3, bringing all legislative action in the House to a halt:

IN: TOM EMMER

Emmer, the House’s No. 3 Republican and chief vote counter, has won the endorsement of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose ouster by hardline party members set off the current crisis. A former ice hockey coach from Minnesota, Emmer said in a social media post on Saturday that he was running “to bring our conference together and get back to work.”

IN: BYRON DONALDS

Donalds, a Republican from Florida and member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, announced his candidacy in a statement late on Friday. During the votes last week on Jordan’s speaker bid, two members backed Donalds on the House floor, although he was not an announced candidate. He also netted as many as 20 votes on the House floor in January during McCarthy’s bruising attempt to secure the gavel.

IN: AUSTIN SCOTT

Scott, a Georgia lawmaker who has kept a relatively low profile in his 12 years in Congress, also launched his candidacy on Friday. He challenged Jordan for the nomination last week in a protest against the Ohio Republican, but failed in a 124-81 vote

Representative Kevin Hern (R-OK) speaks to the media ahead of a House Republican Conference meeting as the Republicans continue to work to choose a new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

IN: KEVIN HERN

Hern, from Oklahoma and chairman of the influential conservative Republican Study Committee, kicked off his run for speaker minutes after Jordan said he had dropped out of the race. Hern garnered as many as seven votes on the House floor during the speaker election in January.

IN: MIKE JOHNSON

Johnson, a conservative constitutional law attorney from Louisiana, has been a member since 2017. He said in a letter to colleagues on Saturday that he was running as a consensus candidate and billed himself as a “team player and a bridge-builder”.

IN: PETE SESSIONS

Sessions, a Texas congressman since 1997 and a former chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee, declared his candidacy on Friday, saying he has the experience to unite the party. He is also a former chairman of the House Republicans’ campaign arm, heading it during the 2010 election when Republicans swept congressional seats.

IN: JACK BERGMAN

U.S. Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA), who finished second in voting behind Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) in a bid to become the next Speaker of the House, talks with reporters following a House Republican Conference meeting in an effort to pick a new leader for the U.S. House of Representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 13, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

Bergman, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general who has been in Congress since 2017, said on Friday his “hat is in the ring”. He is from Michigan.

OUT: GARY PALMER

Palmer, an outspoken defender of former President Donald Trump, was elected to Congress in 2014. The chair of the House Republican Policy Committee, whose goal is to unite congressional Republicans, said on social media on Tuesday that he was ending his campaign for the speakership.

OUT: DAN MEUSER

Meuser, who is from Pennsylvania and has been in the House for four years, had declared his candidacy but dropped out late Monday, telling colleagues: “People are angry, people are frustrated, people are blaming us for the dysfunction, and they are kind of right. So, we need to respond. We need to get this done.”