McCarthy Out, Scalise's Now The Betting Favorite To Be Next House Speaker

In a historic first, Rep. Kevin McCarthy got voted out as House Speaker on Tuesday—216-210 vote. Eight Republicans broke ranks to oust him, less than a year after he won the role through a brutal 15-ballot marathon in January.

Now the race is on for who takes the gavel next. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is holding the interim spot, but the real competition hasn’t started yet.

Who’s Actually In The Running?

Online sportsbooks are already pricing the odds:

Top contenders:

• Steve Scalise: -120 (clear favorite)
• Kevin Hern & Mike Johnson: +700 (tied second)
• Elise Stefanik: +900
• Tom Emmer & Donald Trump: +1000
• Patrick McHenry & Jim Jordan: +1200

Long shots:

• Hakeem Jeffries (Democrat, current Minority Leader): +3300
• Marjorie Taylor Greene: +6600
• Matt Gaetz: +6600
• Lauren Boebert: +20000

The Plot Twist

Yes, Trump’s on the list at +1000 odds. He actually got votes in the January Speaker race too—someone literally voted for him on ballots 7 and 8. And technically, the Speaker doesn’t have to be a current member of Congress, which opens the door to all kinds of chaos.

Compare this to January when McCarthy was the favorite at -150, and Scalise was sitting at +200. The dynamics have totally shifted.

Bottom line: Scalise’s the consensus pick right now, but this process is still early and anything could happen in Republican leadership roulette.