Jim Jordan loses first vote to become House speaker as GOP chaos deepens

Table Of Content

• Jim Jordan Loses First Round Of House Speaker Election As 20 Republicans Defect
• Jeffries
• Representative Jim Jordan, a Trump loyalist, has decided not to run for an open Senate seat.
• JUST IN: No House speaker elected after McCarthy falls short on votes
• Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox
• January 3, 2023 Latest on the new Congress and House speaker vote
• Jim Jordan loses first round of balloting on House speaker vote: Voting expected Wednesday

To expose the remaining holdouts to conservative MAGA pressure through phone calls and social media. It's a tough tactic, but Jordan surrogates say it's effective and necessary. "No person having received a majority of the whole number of votes cast by surname, a speaker has not been elected," McHenry said with a bang of the gavel.

Jim Jordan Loses First Round Of House Speaker Election As 20 Republicans Defect

"That's a principle I have always held to, and that I've acted on -- delivering major bipartisan legislation on infrastructure, outcompeting China, gun reform, and veterans care." President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he plans to work with newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson. A son of civil servants who cut his teeth as a litigator at a white-shoe law firm and at CBS, Mr. Jeffries rose swiftly through the ranks of Democratic politics in New York and then Washington.

Jeffries

But, Scalise rebuffed a request from Jordan to give a nominating speech on the floor on Tuesday. And after Jordan failed to secure the speakership on the first ballot, Scalise was noncommittal about helping Jordan further, a source added. Mr. Jordan has long had ambitions to lead House Republicans and has hoped to become speaker if his party takes a majority in the chamber following the 2022 elections.

Representative Jim Jordan, a Trump loyalist, has decided not to run for an open Senate seat.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, Republican of Florida, says he'll stick with ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for any upcoming floor votes for House speaker. No additional votes are expected in the House on Tuesday, closing out another day without a permanent House speaker. Wednesday and proceed to a second ballot in an attempt to elect a speaker. Six Republicans voted for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted on Oct. 3. Several others voted for Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who withdrew his name from consideration last week, and former Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Trump ally who didn't run for reelection in 2022 when he ran for governor in New York.

JUST IN: No House speaker elected after McCarthy falls short on votes

U.S. House to vote on Jim Jordan speaker nomination - The Columbus Dispatch

U.S. House to vote on Jim Jordan speaker nomination.

Posted: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Since McCarthy did not win a majority of those present and voting for a candidate in the initial round of voting, the House moved to a second ballot. Without a speaker, the chamber cannot vote on vital legislation, including bills to send funding to Ukraine as it fends off the Russian invasion and to Israel as its military prepares to invade the Gaza Strip in response to an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants. The U.S. House remained without a speaker Tuesday afternoon as about 20 Republicans, including Indiana's Victoria Spartz, voted for candidates other than GOP nominee Jim Jordan of Ohio. On Forbes Newsroom, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) weighed in on Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) losing the first round of votes in the House speaker election on Tuesday. Contact Alex with tips and feedback at , and stay updated on his reporting by following him on social media at @AlexRouhandeh.

Next step unclear for Jordan and his allies

For now, it denies Jordan the speaker’s gavel, but votes can still be changed while the roll is being called. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican and Jordan ally who has resisted party leadership in the past, said the holdouts on the House speaker vote would now be put through a “meat grinder” of pressure. The House adjourned Tuesday evening after Jordan failed to garner enough Republican support to clinch the gavel in the first ballot for House speaker. Jeffries said Tuesday evening after Jim Jordan lost the speaker’s vote that it’s fine if the next speaker is a Republican.

But the conservative firebrand lost a bid for minority leader to Representative Kevin McCarthy of California following the 2018 elections. Mr. Jordan said he would keep fighting to secure the majority of votes he needs to become speaker, and spent much of Wednesday afternoon meeting with some of the holdouts. But it was clear after the second ballot that there was no immediate end in sight to the stalemate that has left the House leaderless and in turmoil after two weeks of Republican infighting.

Jim Jordan fails in second House speaker vote, leaving path forward in doubt - CBS News

Jim Jordan fails in second House speaker vote, leaving path forward in doubt.

Posted: Wed, 18 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Jordan says he’s been picking up support every day and feels good ahead of the vote for House speaker. Members of the House are getting settled in for what is expected to be multiple rounds of votes for speaker. Jordan typically skips a suit jacket, but he was donning one Tuesday as his colleagues prepared to vote on whether to elect him House speaker. With one Republican absent today, Jordan cannot afford to lose more than three GOP votes. With one Republican absent Tuesday, Jordan cannot afford to lose more than three GOP votes.

Jordan was first elected to Congress in 2006 and represents Ohio’s fourth district. He also is one of the founding chairmen of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. After the recall vote, the House clerk announced Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina as speaker pro tempore until a permanent speaker is elected. McCarthy, 58, picked McHenry, 47, as his successor in January, Politico reported.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Jordan would not answer when asked how many rounds of voting he was willing to hold. The latter had been Republicans’ original speaker-designate after McCarthy’s ouster two weeks ago. But opposition, primarily from Jordan allies who insisted they would vote for the Ohio Republican no matter what, forced him to drop out just a day later. Jordan was selected to be the House GOP’s candidate for speaker in an anonymous vote last week, but it became immediately clear that it would be an uphill battle to win the support of moderates and other wary establishment Republicans. Jordan told reporters later on Tuesday that he intended to hold another vote later in the day.

The House on Wednesday again declined to elect Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan as speaker, leaving the chamber in chaos as the Republican majority remains unable to choose a leader who can win a simple majority vote. On Monday night, Spartz released a statement expressing concerns about Jordan’s leadership and if the Ohio Republican would adopt what she called “intimidation” tactics used by McCarthy to gain speaker votes. Indiana Republican Reps. Jim Banks, Erin Houchin and Rudy Yakym all expressed support for Jordan ahead of Tuesday’s vote with posts on X, formerly Twitter. "I just know that we need to get a speaker as soon as possible so we can get to work for the American people," Jordan said in a Friday morning press conference before the vote. "Our plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected to the House of Representatives as soon as possible so we can help the American people." House Republicans chose Jordan as the party's nominee to replace ousted Speaker McCarthy last week, amid considerable turmoil in the party and ahead of a looming government shutdown.