Steve Scalise nominated as Speaker of the House

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Republican lawmakers on Wednesday selected Louisiana Representative and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise as their candidate for Speaker of the House.

It comes more than a week after Kevin McCarthy was ousted by rebel GOP members in a historic no-confidence vote.

Scalise defeated Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan in a reported 113-to-99 vote during a closed-door meeting Wednesday.

"First, I want to thank my House Republican colleagues for just designating me as the speaker. Obviously, we still have work to do," Scalise remarked.

"First order of business"

He will next face a full vote on the House floor, where he will need the support of 217 lawmakers to secure the speakership.

Scalise addressed reporters Wednesday afternoon, saying that if elected, his "first order of business" as speaker will be to pass a resolution in support of Israel.

"I'm also going to be calling on President Biden to sit down and talk about the crisis at the border as we have an open southern border and we've seen millions come in in the last few years, including people on the terrorist watch list from all over the world. If he doesn't know now after what happened, we cannot have an unsecured border," Scalise added.

Such a vote could take place as early as Wednesday, but no time has been confirmed.