The latest on the House speaker race

House Republicans ended Monday in a state of uncertainty, as some members expressed optimism there could be a new House speaker by tomorrow night, while others said they fear no candidate can get the 217 floor votes needed to win the gavel.

A number of House Republicans were still undecided on whom they will back as speaker as they headed into a forum where the candidates made their pitch over roughly two and a half hours.

Rep. Dan Meuser dropped out of the race Monday evening, leaving eight House Republicans still in the running.

How Republicans are reacting: Rep. Pete Sessions — one of the eight candidates — called the meeting “productive” and said it “really helped getting us prepared for tomorrow.”

As uncertainty looms over who will lead the chamber, one thing seems sure: Many members are tired of the chaos roiling the House GOP.

Rep. Dusty Johnson told CNN that his constituents “just can’t believe that we’re this bad” and said the “chaos has been absolutely inexcusable.”  

Other members told CNN that their constituents back home are angry about the dysfunction in Washington as the lawmakers expressed renewed fears that the chaos could cost them their House majority.

Rep. Vern Buchanan said his constituents are “very worked up” about the GOP leadership crisis and “they think all of us are incapable.” 

Although Rep. Don Bacon said he thinks the House would have a speaker Tuesday night, saying "people are so discouraged by what's happened the last three weeks, that they want to come together," some of his colleagues weren't so sure.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul told CNN, “It’s going to be very difficult, but we have to get there.”

So what happens next? At 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the House GOP will vote for their speaker nominee.

With eight candidates in the running, members will cast a successive series of secret ballots, with the candidate who garners the fewest number of votes in each round dropped from the running.

The process will continue until there are only two candidates left or until one candidate receives a majority of the votes, whichever comes first.

Here a plurality of votes is not enough. The winning candidate will need 50% +1 of the conference, or a minimum of 113 votes. The conference vote is expected to take several hours.

There is no time or date scheduled for a floor vote. That will be determined by the speaker-designee. 

After roughly two and a half hours, the GOP House speaker candidate forum has ended. Members heard from the eight Republicans vying for the gavel.

Following the forum, Rep. Pete Sessions — one of the eight candidates — called the meeting “productive” and said it “really helped getting us prepared for tomorrow,” when the conference will vote for its third candidate to succeed Kevin McCarthy.

“Obviously, overwhelmingly, there's a viewpoint that we do get that the American people are frustrated with the processes that we've gone through. I would say back to the American people that I think that these few weeks have given us a better chance to learn about each other,” Sessions said.

Sessions said he thinks the conference can decide on someone Tuesday.

“I think that we can get it done. And I think that the body spoke enough about the desire that we not leave here tomorrow until we have that answer,” he said. 

He added, “I think there's only so many times you can go through this process, go to the floor, make a mistake, and I think that it's made us more cognizant of the need to get things done."

Another candidate, Rep. Kevin Hern said, “We had a great turnout — that was really awesome to see that — and they asked really good questions.”

Hern was bullish about his chances.

“Well I certainly do, or I wouldn't be doing this,” he said when asked whether he believed he could win the gavel. “I didn't get this to come in second or to lose.”

Rep. Jack Bergman did not say whether he had a path to win, but said the party would see in the morning. "But the point is, we'll see, because we're gonna start having a round of votes," he said, adding, "when you're the last person standing, you're going to be the speaker-designee.” 

And Rep. Austin Scott, who served as the foil to now-former speaker-designee Jim Jordan in his bid, said he thought his presentation “went pretty good.”

“I feel like there are a lot of members in our conference that have what it would take to be the speaker of the House. I do not in any way, shape, form or fashion think I'm the only person in the Republican conference that has what it takes to be the speaker of the House. I told my colleagues if you want someone who's honest, who's got courage and a strong work ethic, I would love to be your speaker. That's what I told them,” Scott said.

After roughly two and a half hours, the GOP House speaker candidate forum has wrapped. Members heard from the eight Republicans vying for the gavel.

Republicans are expected to hold a secret-ballot election Tuesday to select a nominee.

Some members expressed optimism there could be a new House speaker by tomorrow night, while others said they fear no candidate can get the 217 floor votes needed to win the gavel.

Rep. Matt Gaetz said he believes the House GOP “might” have a speaker Tuesday night. 

Gaetz, who led the push to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, also said that he was “heartened” by the candidates who bought into advancing single-subject spending bills “rather than linking disparate issues like Ukraine funding and Israel funding together,” praising the plans of both Kevin Hern and Mike Johnson.

He also said there was a “unifying” moment when he asked which of the candidates would “support the prompt full release of the January 6 tapes to the public, and every single one of the candidates said they would do that,” he said. “So if nothing else, this process will bring about that outcome that we were not able to obtain from the prior speaker.”

House Republicans are concerned that none of the declared speaker candidates will be able to get the requisite 217 votes on the House floor.   

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul told CNN, “It’s going to be very difficult, but we have to get there.”

And Rep. Vern Buchanan warned that if the eventual nominee can’t get to 217 votes on the floor, the conference may find itself in the undesirable position of having to work with Democrats.

A lot of members "don't want to work with Democrats, but it might end up to be a point where that's the only way. We’ve got to get the government open. People are very angry, upset,” the Florida Republican said.

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said “probably, not immediately” when asked whether he believed any of the candidates can reach the requisite votes on the floor. 

Rep. Dusty Johnson told CNN that his constituents “just can’t believe that we’re this bad” and said the “chaos has been absolutely inexcusable.”  

Pressed on the challenge of securing 217 votes, the South Dakota Republican said of the eight candidates, “I think at least half of them could get there. The other half might struggle a little bit. We’re going to have to figure out how to get our act together. Big boys and big girls have got to quit making excuses and we’ve got to just go get it done.”

Rep. Don Bacon said he’s confident that there will be a new House speaker Tuesday night and that the conference should support “a majority of the majority.”

“I think people are so discouraged by what's happened the last three weeks, that they want to come together. I think we have a great team in there right now. They're making some great cases, and I think we'll have a speaker tomorrow night. I'm hopeful for that,” the Nebraska Republican said.

Though Bacon would not say who he would support directly, he praised Majority Whip Tom Emmer.

Bacon had a message for those members who set the process in motion by voting to vacate the chair, which ended the speakership of Kevin McCarthy.

“I hope everybody learned a lesson. When you're five people or eight people and you undercut the majority, there's a price to pay. And that's what happened last week,” he said.

Bacon also addressed the threatening calls that he and his family have received. Several Republicans who opposed Rep. Jim Jordan’s speakership bid said they are experiencing angry calls, menacing messages and even death threats since casting their votes.

“The bullying and the threat-making, the harassment, that's not OK,” he said. “As a Republican I reject it. And if you want to bully and harass myself, it ain’t gonna work, right? So hopefully they figured that out.”

A number of House Republicans were still undecided on whom they will back as speaker as they headed into a forum where the candidates will make their pitch.

There is also disagreement about whether members will automatically fall in line behind whichever candidate gets the most votes, foreshadowing that the same divisions that have trapped the House GOP in this crisis are not showing any signs of letting up. 

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, who dropped out of the race Friday after a majority of the conference voted against him on a secret ballot, told CNN’s Manu Raju, "I’m for the Republican.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who also had a failed speakership bid, told CNN he had spoken to all the candidates but was not ready to endorse. 

“I’m going to hear the forum right now,” Scalise said. 

A number of the New York freshmen Republicans who were part of the opposition against Jordan told CNN they were not ready to endorse a candidate or announce who they are endorsing.

GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito told CNN of the candidates, "I'm looking forward to hearing from them tonight.”

“I haven’t said who I’m supporting yet,” GOP Rep. Nick LaLota told CNN.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia told CNN she hasn’t endorsed a candidate and when asked if there was anyone she liked she said, “No.”

GOP Rep. Mario Diaz Balart, who has endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds, said he could support any of the eight candidates.

“Do I have my preference? Yes. Could I support any of them? Absolutely,” he told CNN. “What I want to do is support whoever wins the election.”

That theory doesn’t work for everyone, though. GOP Rep. Chip Roy, who has also endorsed Donalds, said he wouldn’t necessarily support the conference nominee.

After giving his speech at tonight’s candidate forum, Rep. Dan Meuser dropped out of the speaker’s race, per members in the room.

The Pennsylvania Republican then got a standing ovation, and members said it was an honorable move. 

Eight other Republicans are still in the running. 

Meuser, who dropped out of the speaker's race for other "commitments," warned that the GOP dysfunction could cost the party the House and said that Trump supported his decision to withdraw.

Asked by CNN’s Manu Raju how concerned he is that the leadership crisis will cost Republicans the majority, he said, “if it keeps up any longer I think it will. We have time to correct it — we’ve got to get to work.” 

“I felt that it was in the best interest in the end,” he said of his decision to drop out. “I came in late, I have other commitments that I want to adhere to. Largely, leading President Trump’s campaign in Pennsylvania. We have great candidates, and I wrote up a plan of how to improve the speaker’s office making it a members-first office, which in the end is a people's-first office — and a few of the candidates up there have adopted some of my ideas.”

Meuser said Trump supported his decision to withdraw from the race, adding that he believes the GOP will get a strong speaker.

"We’ve got to have a fresh start. We’ve got to have respect for each other," Meuser said.

The Pennsylvania Republican said he hasn't decided whether he will endorse a candidate. “I have a couple of people in mind,” he said.

Republican House members told CNN that their constituents back home are angry about the dysfunction in Washington as the lawmakers expressed renewed fears that the chaos could cost them their House majority.

Rep. Vern Buchanan said his constituents are “very worked up” about the GOP leadership crisis and “they think all of us are incapable.” 

He said “it’s going to be tough” when asked whether he’s concerned it will cost Republicans the majority. “That’s a year away. Right now this week, we need to get back in business,” said Buchanan, who is backing fellow Florida Rep. Byron Donalds for the job.

“People are very angry and upset. I just got back from the district in Sarasota, Florida, and people are very worked up down there about that. They think all of us are incapable. We’ve got to stay here until we get it done,” he said.

Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky said the GOP leadership crisis "shows that we’re not functioning as a majority. And when you lose that you lose the ability to govern.”

And Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana said that while the situation illustrates the GOP is about “freedom,” she also said it shows that the institution is “broken.”

“I think it looks like we have freedom in our party and we want to hold our leadership accountable,” she said. “I think we need to just deliberate until we get a speaker because I think it’s important for us to govern.”