US House Republicans meet to pick Speaker nominee

Republicans are meeting behind closed doors to pick their nominee to succeed Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

They are believed to be close to holding a secret vote to nominate Jim Jordan or Steve Scalise.

The Speaker is one of the most important posts on Capitol Hill.

Mr McCarthy was ousted from the position after right-wing party members revolted and removed him, a move unprecedented in US politics.

If Republicans can unite behind either Mr Jordan or Mr Scalise then the whole of the House, which is the lower chamber of Congress, will vote on who the next Speaker will be.

Democrats are the minority party so their choice for Speaker has little chance of winning the simple majority of votes required, which is 217.

The Republican Party has been plagued by infighting in recent weeks and unable to come to an agreement on McCarthy's replacement.

But arriving at Washington's DC Longworth House office building on Wednesday, several sounded more optimistic.

"We're going to get this done," Mr Scalise told reporters, adding that his first order of business would be a "strong resolution expressing support for Israel" amid its ongoing conflict with Hamas.

Mr Jordan, for his part, said he would "support anyone who can get 217 votes".

Both Mr Jordan and Mr Scalise are considered popular within the party and have reportedly expressed confidence that they have the votes necessary to secure the nomination.

Both are staunch conservatives who oppose abortion, support strong immigration controls and support Donald Trump.

The two, however, operate in very different styles, with Mr Jordan considered more representative of the "Make America Great Again" wing of the Republican party that emerged with Mr Trump's rise.

Among the main unanswered questions as the meeting on Wednesday began is how the eight right-wing Republicans who called for McCarthy's ouster will vote.

Only one, South Carolina's Nancy Mace, has so far endorsed a candidate and on Tuesday said she would support Mr Scalise.

"It's what the American people need, and it's what the American people deserve," she told reporters on Tuesday night. "I hope that we'll come together for the next Speaker very, very quickly".

On the Democrats' side, representatives will put forth New York's Hakeem Jeffries as their candidate for the Speaker position.