Republicans, the majority in the US House of Representatives, elected Steve Scalise as House speaker on Wednesday, elected officials said, signaling the end of the saga over who would succeed Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from office last week after internal wrangling.

Steve Scalise, currently number two in the Republican hierarchy in the lower house of Congress, must now win a floor vote on his nomination to become official president of the House of Representatives, which is narrowly controlled by his colleagues – 221 seats compared to 212 for the Democrats.

In a secret, closed-door vote, Steve Scalise was chosen over Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

At age 58, he has received the support of many long-time Republican elected officials Heavyweight Party.

It remains to be seen whether Jim Jordan’s allies will support Steve Scalise’s nomination in the House floor vote as the infighting over Kevin McCarthy has become clear. Last January, he needed 15 ballots to be nominated – a first in the history of the House of Representatives.

The need to avoid leaving the presidential seat vacant was heightened by the crisis in Israel, allowing the House of Representatives to vote on possible measures and approve additional aid for Ukraine, among other things.

It is very, very important that this Congress gets back to worksaid Steve Scalise, who assured in closed-door conversations Tuesday night that he would support Jim Jordan if he were selected, and vice versa.

The insurrection by just eight Republican elected officials last week was enough to topple Kevin McCarthy, highlighting the potential difficulties the new House speaker could face.