Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was once more rejected by House Republicans in a vote to become the new speaker of the house.
Jordan lost a second vote in two days as 22 GOP defections increased opposition to his nomination from 20. Republicans’ next steps are unknown because there is still no elected speaker in the House, which prevents them from doing anything.
Jordan lost despite working hard behind closed doors over the last 24 hours to convince skeptics.
Prior to the vote, Jordan told reporters, “We’re working on it,” despite the fact that it was obvious that the tide had turned against his attempt to win the gavel. The House adjourned following the vote while Republicans considered their options.
Members look for an alternate
Members have been talking about alternatives for a few days, but none has emerged as a workable solution. According to a GOP source with knowledge of the arrangements, a resolution would be introduced to formally extend Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry’s authority in his temporary position.
“Now that we have been without a Speaker of the House for two weeks and there is still no candidate that has 217 support in the Republican conference, it is time to consider other workable solutions. In a written response to NPR, Ohio GOP Rep. David Joyce said that by making Patrick McHenry the speaker pro tempore, “we can care for our ally Israel until a new speaker is elected.”
But the resolution’s specifics remained ambiguous. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, told reporters on Tuesday that he was willing to talk to any Republican interested in holding office.
Any attempt to give McHenry more authority would require a House vote that required the same majority as the vote to choose a speaker. Democrats would undoubtedly need to vote in favor of it. Democrats have indicated they would like guarantees that McHenry would permit votes on potential legislation such as help to Ukraine and bipartisan spending proposals.
Members criticize Jordan’s strident pressure campaign
Members who disagreed with Jordan have also expressed concern about intimidation and threats from Jordan’s allies. After the second vote, the criticisms grew stronger as Jordan promised to continue the struggle. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Republican from Florida, told reporters that he had heard instances of robocalls in his area spreading false information, including the claim that he would support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, for speaker.
According to reports, robocalls are present in Gimenez’s area. “Someone is paying for this. You are aware that robocalls are not free.
Others have cautioned Jordan and his friends to back off, including Reps. Kay Granger of Texas and Jen Kiggans of Virginia.
Others said that Sean Hannity, a Fox News anchor, had called their staff members and urged them to support Jordan. In the beginning, Hannity described the calls as his attempt as a journalist to quiz members about their opinions regarding the speakers’ race. After the second vote round, he followed up with a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, urging viewers to call members.
The strategies appear to be failing. Theoretically, Jordan will lose more votes as a result of the pressure campaign, according to several lawmakers and GOP aides. The targeting campaign, according to Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas, “has not helped one iota.”
“All I can tell you is that the strategies that have employed towards me, the publishing of my office phone number as well as the messages, if it’s conservative media or anybody else, this is simply a result of going after individuals who do not basically indicate the viewpoint of a whole lot for right-wing conservatives,” he stated to reporters.
Jordan faces more difficult obstacles
Florida Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., who won the internal vote but fell short of securing enough votes to win on the House floor, was obliged to withdraw his name from consideration for speaker. Republican Rep. Mario Diaz Balart voted for Scalise. According to Diaz-Balart, Jordan continues to be unpopular with him. “I think it gets ever more difficult for him every day.”
On the second ballot, he anticipated that there would be a “pick up” in the amount of votes cast by GOP members for other candidates. He claimed that the Jordanian allies’ intimidating and threatening tactics have “backfired dramatically.” He made note that the GOP conference has to determine a course of action but avoided blaming Jordan or mentioning any threats he had received.
After Jordan was unable to secure the necessary votes on the floor, Rep. Greg Murphy, R-North Carolina, a fan of his, said it was almost like “deja vu all over again, as Yogi Berra used to say.” He predicted that “probably about half” of them might change their minds and back to Jordan. But he also acknowledged that some other people might emerge as potential alternate candidates, such as Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., a former RSC chair, or Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., the current leader of a sizable group of fiscal conservatives known as the Republican Study Committee.
If that’s the right term, Murphy told reporters, “I don’t think either of them has many detractors.”
Some Republican lawmakers are pushing a measure to give Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., some additional authority to bring up legislative business as the effort to elect a permanent speaker continues. They are frustrated with the dysfunction that has persisted as the chamber enters its third week without a speaker. McHenry has often claimed that the position is purely ceremonial, serving to oversee the selection of a new speaker and that he has no desire to hold the position indefinitely. He still supports Jordan.
Jordan acknowledged that there have been attempts to introduce a resolution that would give McHenry more authority.
“I got 90% of the vote yesterday, got an enormous cross-section of our conference ranging from conservatives to people in the middle to more liberal members, and so I think that’s the best route,” he told reporters just before Wednesday’s vote. “But what about that? This resolution is a topic of conversation. I advised the leadership to raise the issue.
But Republican leaders are becoming increasingly concerned that nobody in the House GOP conference will be able to secure the 217 votes required to become the new speaker. A tiny group of people suggested that McHenry be given additional power to govern the House and allow votes on measures once McCarthy was removed from office. Several people have conversations with the House parliamentarian. There is anxiety that the House must be able to approve legislation funding federal agencies and helping U.S. allies, but the chamber is currently immobilized without a speaker and there is less than a month until a deadline to prevent a second government shutdown.