With Scalise out, all eyes on Jim Jordan in House speaker race

House Republicans are gathering Friday morning as they look for a path forward in a speakership battle riddled with chaos and uncertainty -- with Rep. Jim Jordan working to get enough votes to secure the top spot just hours after Rep. Steve Scalise backed out of the race.

Just over a week after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the speakership, Scalise -- whom the conference nominated in a closed-door session Wednesday -- officially backed out. Now, Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is making his intentions to run for speaker known. He started working the phones Thursday night, calling members to ask for their support, multiple sources tell ABC News.

It's the latest twist in a disorderly speaker contest.

House Majority Leader Scalise withdrew his name as a candidate to replace McCarthy after he didn't appear to have the 217 votes needed to become speaker.

"There were people that told me they were fine with me three days ago who were moving the goalposts," Scalise said Thursday night. "There were games being played, and I said, I'm not gonna be a part of it."

Even after Scalise met with holdouts, it became clear he didn't have the votes. Now, there are serious questions about whether any Republican can unite the party.

Kevin McCarthy insisted the conferences is not fractured, telling ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott Thursday night that "It's 4% of the conference … it's 4% of the conference and all the Democrats that want this chaos."

So, what comes next?

All eyes are on Jordan, R-Ohio, who first challenged Scalise for the nomination.

"Jim Jordan is the obvious choice for the conference. He's the only man in the room that can rally 217 votes, and the best thing Republicans can do is get ... behind him," Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said.

But Jordan is a conservative firebrand who could face major challenges winning over the moderates. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Jordan early in the race for the gavel, which could work both for and against his chances.

Some members said they haven't committed to Jordan. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said he hasn't decided if he will support Jordan because he doesn't want to reward bad behavior -- expressing frustration with the Republican rebels that pushed the party to this point.

"We had a lot of members ... [say] they'd only vote for Jim. That bothers a lot of us. It's not really Jim's fault. But it bothers because you reward bad behavior. And so we pretty much have to grapple with that," Bacon said.

It's unclear when a vote for speaker will be scheduled.

Jordan, who backed out of the race when he lost the nomination and said he would vote for Scalise for speaker, has not officially said he's running -- but it's the obvious next step.

Sources say Jordan didn't say much in a meeting with Republicans Thursday night, but when asked what the key will be for uniting the party, he paused and smiled.

"I think we'll get there," he said. "I think we'll get there."

ABC News' John Parkinson and Jay O'Brien contributed to this report

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