Jim Jordan.Photo:Anna Moneymaker/Getty
Anna Moneymaker/Getty
House Republicans voted to drop Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan as the party’s House speaker nominee after a third defeat in votes earlier today, plunging the GOP into further chaos as pressure mounts for them to unify behind a candidate.
Jordan was selected as the new Republican House speaker nominee last week, and aimed to replace former House SpeakerKevin McCarthy, who wasousted in a historic recall voteon Oct. 3.
The unprecedented motion to remove McCarthy from the nation’s third-highest post followed arecall vote earlier this month, in which the House voted 216-210to strip him ofhis leadership role.
Shortly after McCarthy’s ouster, Republicans nominated Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise to be speaker, though he could not shore up support to win the speaker election and soonwithdrew himself from considerationfor the role.
House Republicans then chose Jordanas the party’s nominee, though he too failed to garner enough support for the role after three rounds of voting.
Now, Republicans find themselves back at square one as they are without a speaker to help avert congressional gridlock ahead of a looming government shutdown.
Some lawmakers had earlier backed the idea of temporarily empowering Rep. Patrick McHenry, who was named Speaker Pro Tempore after McCarthy was ousted.
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But that plan, which began to pick up steam on Thursday, hasn’t drawn widespread support, withNew Republic reporter Grace Segerswriting on X that discussions about the plan had dragged on for hours Thursday, with at least one congressman saying the resolution to empower McHenry was “dead.”
To formally be elected as speaker, a nominee must secure a majority of votes during the formal election — that means whoever the next nominee is will need 217 votes, if everyone in the House participates in voting.
The New York Times reports that Republican Reps. Kevin Hern, Austin Scott, Jack Bergman and Byron Donalds are all entering the race to be their party’s nominee for the role.
source: people.com
