BREAKING: Steve Scalise announces bid for House Speaker

In a letter to colleagues, obtained by Punchbowl News, Scalise urged his colleagues to support him for the House leadership position.

"God already gave me another chance at life. I believe we were all put here for a purpose. This next chapter won’t be easy, but I know what it takes to fight and I am prepared for the battles that lie ahead. I humbly ask you for your support on this mission to be your Speaker of the House."

"While we have made tremendous progress so far this Congress and have demonstrated that we can unite against failing liberal policies, more work needs to be done. We have an extremely talented Conference, and we all need to come together and pull in the same direction to get the country back on the right track."

"Now is not the time to slow down. We are conducting critical oversight of a corrupt administration. We are in the midst of considering individual appropriations bills in an open and transparent process, with Members from across the Conference offering amendments to ensure their constituents and districts are represented," Scalise wrote.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.