Speaker contenders are dropping out of the planned Fox News TV event, leaving it in jeopardy
Fox News’ planned televised event for the House GOP speaker contenders appears to suddenly be down to zero participants.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise is not participating in the event, his spokesperson confirmed to POLITICO. And House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan said he wanted to meet with the GOP conference before a televised event, per his spokesperson — timing that is likely to be difficult with Tuesday’s packed schedule.
A third possible contender, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), also announced Friday that he would not be participating.
“We need to make this decision as a conference, not on TV. The Republican conference needs a family discussion,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
A spokesperson for Fox News didn’t respond to requests for comment on whether the joint interview was still happening. A person familiar with the process told POLITICO the Fox News event is no longer happening.
The news comes as Republican centrists, a key voting bloc who the candidates need to lock down for speaker, were outraged by the news that the candidates would appear on Fox News before speaking with the GOP conference.
Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.