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The latter approach has not been successful so far, and there are no signs that his holdouts would be willing to come to his side. They have given no indication that they even have demands that Jordan could meet — in fact, they reportedly told him in a meeting on Thursday that they would never support him, regardless of what he may offer. Jordan lost the closed-door, secret-ballot vote on whether he should remain the party's nominee, with just 86 of his fellow Republicans saying he should and 112 saying he shouldn't, according to several lawmakers. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, nominated by Democrats, received 212 votes.
McCarthy Loyalists
Jordan said Friday morning that he aimed to elect a speaker this weekend, and his next move will clarify whether he intends to go through with that plan. Speaking on the steps of the Capitol after the third vote, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who led the charge against McCarthy, said he and other members were prepared to fall on their swords to secure Jordan the gavel. "My hat is in the ring, and I feel confident I can win the votes where others could not. I have no special interests to serve; I'm only in this to do what's best for our Nation and to steady the ship for the 118th Congress," he said in a statement. Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, who is the third highest-ranking Republican in the House as majority whip, is making calls about a possible run for speaker, according to a person familiar with his plans. With Republicans having trouble settling on a speaker, Mr. Jeffries has pitched a coalition government that he describes as an “enlightened arrangement.” But the idea is a long shot.
House has been without elected speaker for two weeks
Jim Jordan Loses First Round Of House Speaker Election As 20 Republicans Defect - Forbes
Jim Jordan Loses First Round Of House Speaker Election As 20 Republicans Defect.
Posted: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
When Mr. McCarthy was booted out by a right-wing rebellion two weeks ago, the world learned that Mr. McHenry was the first name on his list. But Republicans were divided even on doing that, with some Jordan loyalists arguing that it would set a damaging precedent. Jordan quickly emerged as the favorite among conservatives for the GOP's nomination for speaker, and the conference convened Friday morning to select a new candidate. The Ohio Republican faced a late challenge from Georgia Rep. Austin Scott, though ultimately won the backing of a majority of the 221-member conference. One activist, Amy Kremer, the chair of the pro-Trump group Women for America First, urged her social media followers to call the offices of GOP lawmakers opposed to Jordan, while conservative media figures like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity have weighed in. Jordan is spending the final hours before the speaker vote on the phone with and meeting with members who have not yet expressed their support for him, according to a source familiar with Jordan's schedule.
Scalise wouldn't commit to helping Jordan in speaker race during meeting
GOP Rep. Mario Diaz Balart, who voted against Rep. Jim Jordan for speaker on Tuesday's first ballot, sent a letter to interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry demanding an immediate second vote on electing a new speaker. After the first vote, the House recessed and Jordan shuffled between the speaker’s office and the majority whip’s office holding meetings. But with public pressure bearing down on lawmakers from Trump’s allies including conservative TV hosts, it’s unclear how long the holdouts can last. Hours before a floor vote, one of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s most loyal supporters threw his support behind Jordan after days of hesitation. Instead, he has spent his time in Congress fighting to get retribution for his political allies, to kill legislation and eventually to maneuver his way to becoming the top Republican on some of the chamber’s most powerful committees. To seize the gavel, Jordan will need almost the full majority of his colleagues behind him in a House floor vote, as Democrats are certain to back their own nominee, Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
No more votes expected in the House today, with lawmakers set to reconvene at 11 a.m. Wednesday
Scalise dropped out of the race for speaker last week after it became apparent he didn't have enough votes. Jordan took his place, and on Tuesday fell short of the speakership when 20 Republicans voted against him. "We picked up some today. A couple of them dropped off, but they voted for me before; I think they’ll come back again," Jordan told reporters after the vote.
The Founding Fathers Couldn't Have Foreseen Trump—But They Immunized Him
Mr. Jordan embraced right-wing populism long before the Tea Party or Donald Trump made it into a national force. In the early 2000s, Mr. Jordan drew grimaces from Republican leaders of the legislature for opposing a sales-tax increase that even party stalwarts agreed was needed to close a budget gap. Representative Doug LaMalfa of California had said after voting against Mr. Jordan on the first ballot that he was prepared to support him on the second time around. After winning 200 votes on Tuesday, the Judiciary Committee chairman won 199 on Wednesday, after picking up the votes of two Republicans while losing the support of four others. One Republican who had been absent on Tuesday, Representative Gus Bilirakis of Florida, voted for Mr. Jordan on Wednesday. Still, many lawmakers have grown deeply alarmed about the absence of an elected speaker as wars are raging in Israel and Ukraine and the government is within weeks of shutting down if Congress fails to reach a spending agreement.
Representative Jim Jordan, a Trump loyalist, has decided not to run for an open Senate seat.
Here are the Republicans whose votes moved for and against Mr. Jordan on the second vote. Some Republicans, particularly Mr. Jordan’s staunchest supporters, have resisted such a move because it would sap momentum for the party to unite behind him — or any other Republican. The talks have gained urgency as war has broken out between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and lawmakers increasingly worry that the House will be unable to act on that crisis — or make any progress on a measure to fund the government and avoid a shutdown next month. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
House begins voting for speaker
Many House aides believe that Mr. McHenry’s power is strictly confined to presiding over the election of a new speaker, as he has been doing this week. But because this situation hasn’t come up before, some congressional scholars argue that the bounds of the acting speaker’s power are largely dependent on what a majority of members is willing to tolerate. But because this situation has not come up before, some congressional scholars argue that the bounds of the acting speaker’s power are largely dependent on what a majority of members are willing to authorize. “We picked up some today, a couple dropped off,” Mr. Jordan said after the vote.
Two other Republicans who voted for Mr. Jordan on Tuesday switched on Wednesday to supporting committee chairs. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, who spoke out against Mr. Jordan during a closed-door meeting of Republicans, cast her ballot for Representative Kay Granger of Texas, the Appropriations Committee chairwoman. Representative Pete Stauber of Minnesota voted for Representative Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee on which both men sit. After holding one failed speaker vote this morning, the House is now done for the day. There will be no more votes today, and lawmakers plan to reconvene for another vote tomorrow, according to a person familiar with the schedule.
Jordan's options remain essentially the same as they were before the vote. With his support eroding, he could drop out of the race and Republicans could go back to square one to find a new nominee. Or he could keep running, and keep trying to convince his detractors that they should support him. Jordan received even more Republican votes against him — 25 — than he did in earlier rounds, with three more GOP members joining the ranks of the defectors. There is now a secret ballot underway in the Republican Conference's meeting about whether Jordan should drop his bid to be the next House speaker, according to two lawmakers in the room. "Unfortunately, Jim is no longer going to be the nominee. We will have to go back to the drawing board," said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, whose ouster as speaker more than two weeks ago prompted the current stalemate.
Rep. Jim Jordan failed to win the House speakership on his first bid Tuesday, leaving the House in paralysis after 20 Republicans opposed the Ohio Republican. GOP lawmakers are expected to rally their votes behind Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to be the next speaker despite reluctance from some who are wary of his hardline approach. Conservatives have been mounting an intense pressure campaign to persuade the final holdouts to support him. But a Jordan speakership would also come with baggage that could present a challenge to Republicans as they labor to hold their House majority in next year’s election, an effort that will likely hinge on drawing support from moderate voters in swing districts.
It took McCarthy 15 rounds in January across five days of voting to finally win the speaker's gavel. Losing at least five Republican votes, Jordan is unlikely to win on the first round unless a Republican who voted against him flips their vote. Without a majority, the speaker contest is then forced into a second round of voting. Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye said lawmakers should be prepared for another round of votes for House speaker after the Ohio Republican fell short of the 217 he needs to win the speakership.
But Scalise’s support was likely cold comfort to Jordan, who is on the brink of losing the first round unless votes change before the end. Republicans gave Rep. Steve Scalise a standing ovation after he cast his vote for Jordan for speaker. For his part, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is smiling and joking with colleagues as he no longer bears the weight of cajoling them to unite.
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