U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) (C) talks to a staff member and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) (R) while former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) laughs, as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on a new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on October 17, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives failed in a first vote for U.S. House Speaker Tuesday, raising the prospect that the Ohio Republican could keep trying for multiple ballots.
Jordan’s candidacy was in peril from very early in the vote, as a string of Republicans surprised their caucus by voting against the Ohio lawmaker. Instead, many of them voted for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy or the Majority Leader, Rep. Steve Scalise, neither of whom were on the ballot.
The vote came just two weeks after a faction of hardline Republican lawmakers ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy and threw the lower chamber into chaos.
The Judiciary Committee chairman could only afford to lose four Republicans out of 221 and still win the gavel, but he lost 20.
“We are in a time of great crisis across America, a time of historic challenges in the his very chamber, and a time when heinous acts of terror and evil have been committed against our great ally Israel,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who formally nominated Jordan on the floor. “Jim Jordan will be America’s speaker for such a time as this,” she said.
Democrats, meanwhile, nominated their own speaker pick, Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
“A vote for the gentleman from Ohio is a vote to turn your back on national security,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar D-Calif., referring to Jordan in his speech nominating Jeffries. “It’s a vote to turn your back on a bipartisan path to fund the government and avoid shutdowns, something we can only do only if we reject his nomination.”
The deeply divided Republican conference has so far been unable to coalesce around a candidate for speaker after McCarthy’s ouster. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was the party’s original nominee to succeed McCarthy, but he was forced to abandon his bid last week after he could not secure the votes.
McCarthy himself faced 15 rounds of voting before he won the gavel in January. Jordan has said he wants the House to keep voting Tuesday until it chooses a speaker, suggesting Jordan intends to wear down his opposition on the House floor.
The House has been leaderless for two weeks after a faction of eight Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida ousted McCarthy in an unprecedented no-confidence vote.
Democrats refused to come to the rescue of McCarthy’s speakership, which led to his downfall. They have no incentive do Jordan any favors either, a hard-right Ohio Republican and close ally of Donald Trump who is leading an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden.
This means Jordan has to rely entirely on his party’s narrow majority. Democrats are backing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
The leadership vacuum in the House has put Congress in a state of paralysis, unable to move forward with important national security legislation amid rising tensions and escalating conflict around the world.
Biden and Republican national security hawks like House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul of Texas have warned the leadership vacuum in the lower chamber is dangerous.
The president has called on Congress to pass emergency security assistance for Israel after the devastating Hamas terrorist attacks, as well as for Ukraine as Kyiv is running out of time to push Russia back before the weather makes military operations more difficult.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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