House Foreign Affairs Chair McCaul warns House GOP 'playing with fire' by delaying speaker election

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul warned Thursday that fellow Republicans in the chamber are "playing with fire" by further delaying the speaker election.

"I think we’re playing with fire. And we need to stop playing games and politics with this and vote a speaker in,” McCaul, of Texas, told reporters outside of the closed-door House GOP conference meeting on Capitol Hill. 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., won the speaker nomination on Wednesday 113-99 against Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, but he currently doesn't have enough votes to win the speaker election on the House floor.

Scalise faces opposition from lawmakers who have committed to vote for Jordan on the House floor.

The vote has therefore been delayed until further notice. Without an official speaker, votes are on hold.

“It’s a dangerous game that we’re playing. It just proves our adversaries right that democracy doesn’t work,” McCaul also said. "Our adversaries are watching us. And Israel is watching. They need our help."

The Texas Republican said he wants the House to vote on his bipartisan resolution with the ranking member of his committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), which would formally condemn Hamas and express support for Israel. He also noted that the Biden Administration is going to want Congress to pass additional foreign assistance for Israel in their fight against Hamas in response to the terror attack that took place this weekend.