(Reuters) - Steve Scalise, who had secured the Republican Party's nomination to be the next speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives but was short of the 217 votes needed to be elected on the House floor, has dropped out of the race, he said on Thursday.
"I just shared with my colleagues that I was withdrawing my name as a candidate that our speaker designee," he told reporters.
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives spent hours in closed-door talks on Thursday but failed to resolve divisions that have prevented them from installing Scalise as speaker of the chamber, which has been leaderless for nine days.
Scalise, the No.2 House Republican, had secured his party's nomination to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Republicans can afford no more than four defections as they control the House by a narrow 221-212 margin.
Persons:
Steve Scalise, Kevin McCarthy, Daivd Morgan, Eric Beech, Costas Pitas, Caitlin Webber
Organizations:
Reuters, Republican, U.S . House, Republicans
Locations:
U.S