House Republicans are planning to try to choose their new leader by Wednesday of next week, with two candidates having already declared intentions to run. The votes could begin on Wednesday, but there is no guarantee a speaker will be chosen that day, with one congressman telling the Sun that this process could take weeks. 

The only two candidates for the speakership thus far are the House majority leader, Congressman Steve Scalise, who has served as chief deputy to the former speaker, Kevin McCarthy, for the better part of a decade, and the House Judiciary Committee chairman, Congressman Jim Jordan — the far more conservative choice. 

Messrs. Scalise and Jordan declared their intentions just hours after Mr. McCarthy was removed from his position — a move instigated by Congressman Matt Gaetz that has enraged some of his House colleagues. 

A key ally of Mr. McCarthy who delivered an impassioned speech in his defense before he was removed — Congressman Garret Graves — launched into an expletive-laden tirade on Wednesday morning at the Capitol. “It’s stupid,” he said angrily. “It’s stupid to do this. … We all know what this was about. It was all about this right here,” Mr. Graves said, holding up his phone to display a fundraising email from Mr. Gaetz asking for donations in the wake of his campaign to oust Mr. McCarthy. 

“It’s bulls–,” Mr. Graves added. Republicans “looked like a bunch of idiots.” He also said Mr. Gaetz was “in violation of conference rules” by ousting the speaker and “should be in jail” for fundraising off of Mr. McCarthy’s ouster. As Mr. Graves was railing against Mr. Gaetz, one Republican congressman told the Sun that he was having “a good time” watching his colleague. 

Mr. Graves added that he hopes his GOP colleagues will move quickly to elect a new speaker and that the Republican conference’s plan was to hold a private forum for all speaker candidates on Tuesday night before voting on who should be the Republican nominee for speaker. 

Congressman Chip Roy, emerging from a private lunch with his Texas Republican colleagues, told the Sun that he also hopes the new speaker is elected by next Wednesday. 

Mr. Scalise was invited to attend the Texas delegation lunch on Wednesday to woo the 25 members — more than 10 percent of the House GOP conference. When asked how Mr. Scalise was received by the Texas delegation, Mr. Roy said, “I mean, he’s Leader Scalise, he’s a good friend. I had great conversations with him. … We’re working hard, we’re going to unite.”

Once Mr. McCarthy was removed from the speakership, the job fell to a close ally of the former speaker who now holds the title of speaker pro tempore, Congressman Patrick McHenry. Mr. McHenry did not answer questions as he entered his office Wednesday morning. He has said he will not be a candidate for the speakership, but Mr. Graves said Mr. McHenry could have to hold his current position for “a while” if the GOP fails to coalesce around a candidate. 

Being a favorite of President Trump and many of the grassroots conservatives who occupy much of the social media and cable news space, Mr. Jordan may be a tough sell for some of the conference’s more moderate members. The Sun spoke with two moderate GOP members from the Empire State who serve districts that President Biden won in 2020 — Congressman Marc Molinaro and Congressman Nick LaLota. 

“I want a leadership vision that speaks to the reality” of politics, Mr. Molinaro said, adding that he would not be endorsing a candidate for speaker any time soon. Mr. Molinaro, like Mr. Graves, spoke of his deep frustrations about Mr. Gaetz’s move. He hinted that the House Republicans may vote to expel him from the GOP conference. 

Mr. LaLota said any decision to oust Mr. Gaetz has to be discussed by the entire conference, but when asked by the Sun if Mr. Gaetz could lose his committee assignment, he said it “should have happened a long time ago.”