Hot-headed Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a key ally of Donald Trump, has won election as the Republican nominee for House speaker – but faces a huge uphill battle to be elected by the House.
Jordan defeated Austin Scott, a rank-and-file Republican congressman from Georgia frustrated with the party’s right wing, by a vote of 124 to 81 for the nomination.
But in a follow-up vote, members were asked, “Would you vote for Jordan in the House?” Fifty-five of them said they wouldn’t — even though Republicans can only afford to lose four votes in the House.
To become a nominee, a candidate must win a majority at the Republican convention, but in the House of Representatives he must win over almost all of his Republican colleagues because he will not win any Democratic votes.
This came ten days after Republicans ousted their previous speaker, Kevin McCarthy. This was the first time in U.S. history that someone was removed from office.
Since then, Congress has been paralyzed, unable to advance action to support Israel in its war against the terrorist group Hamas or avert a looming government shutdown as federal funding is set to expire in November.
The sudden retirement of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise presents an opportunity for Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. However, it is not clear whether he can garner the 217 votes necessary to secure the position
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., frustrated with the conference’s right wing, was defeated by Jordan
To become speaker, a candidate must first secure the Republican Party’s nomination. They then have to secure a majority – 217 votes – in a full vote in the House of Representatives.
Republicans have a narrow majority, and if only four Republicans and all Democrats vote against it, this candidate will fail.
Earlier this week, Scalise, who is currently battling blood cancer, was nominated to replace McCarthy.
But Scalise dropped out when it became clear that he had at least a dozen hard-line opponents within his own party, making his path to the office nearly impossible.
Jordan, who originally lost to Scalise in an internal vote, also has his own critics and it will be difficult for him to reach 217 votes as well.
Reps. Tom McClintock, D-Calif., and Reps. John Rutherford and Carlos Gimenez, both of Florida, say they still want McCarthy to come back and become speaker again.
And other moderate Republicans also say they won’t vote for Jordan because it would reward “bad behavior” from the party’s right wing, which voted to oust McCarthy.
The whole scene “makes us look like a bunch of idiots,” Scott said before his announcement that he would run against Jordan for the job.
“When I woke up this morning, I had no intention of doing this,” the rural Georgia Republican said of his run for speaker.
The House of Representatives continues to function without an elected speaker. Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) has filled the position. The House of Representatives cannot function without a speaker
The House’s dysfunction has prevented it from implementing even a simple resolution as close ally Israel comes under attack and prepares for a possible ground invasion of Gaza
He said he did it because he was frustrated by the dysfunction – and angry at the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy last week.
“We have a very small group of people who have to have everything their way.” “We had a group that sabotaged Speaker McCarthy, and now we had a group that sabotaged Steve Scalise, both great people,” he said.
“We should just have a lottery.” “If you lose, you have to be speaker,” said Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia.
Jordan could win the support of many conservatives who feared Scalise would be a repeat of McCarthy’s term.
But a group of party centrists have expressed doubts about throwing their support behind Jordan, the former conservative chairman of the House Freedom Caucus who played a leading role in congressional investigations into Hunter Biden’s finances.
However, Jordan said confidently, “I think we’ll get 217 votes.”
House Republicans met Friday morning to find a path forward.
There has even been talk of trying to pass legislation that would give more authority to interim Speaker Pro Tempore, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.).
A disappointed Scalise said, “Our (Republican) conference has yet to meet and she’s not there.” “There are still some people who have their own agenda.”
The list of Republicans who say they will reject Majority Leader Steve Scalise, the No. 2 Republican in the House, for the post has grown, not shorter
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to reporters after a Republican meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023
Democrats attacked Republicans for causing chaos, while Republicans accused each other of being “dysfunctional and broken.”
Scalise said his Republican colleagues need to “look in the mirror,” put rivalries aside and do what’s best for the country.
He said: “There are some people who will have to look in the mirror in the next few days and decide to get back on track. “You can try to get back on track or you can have your own agenda pursue, but you can’t do both.”
Scalise said he was still optimistic that Republicans could unite around someone.
“I think we’ll do it. “It’s not going to happen tomorrow, it has to happen soon,” he said.
“Dysfunctional, disorganized and broken,” is how Texas Rep. Troy Nehls, who wants to make Donald Trump speaker of the House of Representatives, described his party.
“I don’t believe that the Lord Jesus could reach 217!” Nehls remembered a member of parliament saying at a party meeting.
Jim Jordan, Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, could try to become speaker
Jim Jordan is a key ally of Donald Trump in Congress
“We’re not moving forward,” said Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., who admitted she’s worried about how the disorder will affect her swing district race in 2024.
“We have a war in Israel…It’s really frustrating.”
Nancy Mace, one of the Republicans who declined to support Scalise, said it was because of a comment he allegedly once made about former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke.
Scalise is said to have described himself as a duke “without baggage.”
Most of the Republicans who refused to support Scalise were Jordan supporters.
“The representatives must be aware that they are giving away a majority in the House of Representatives.” They are giving away a majority. “The American people deserve better,” Republican Representative Andy Barr said after Scalise announced his retirement.
“We were elected for a reason, but we are undoing an election because we can’t even find a speaker,” he added. “This is not what the American people voted for in 2022.”
The competitors for the speaker post, Jim Jordan (left) and Steve Scalise (right), have already worked closely together before
“We need to focus on the person who can get the votes and get the job done as quickly as possible, get it done and move on,” Republican Congressman Roger Williams said Friday.
Republicans had hoped to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing spectacle of January, when hardline conservatives forced McCarthy to endure 15 votes in four days before he ultimately won the gavel.
Scalise’s withdrawal came after days of standstill behind closed doors.
The ongoing division within Republican circles has also led to speculation that Republicans may turn to Democrats to support a consensus candidate.
Scalise and Donald Trump’s ally Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee, faced off in an internal House Republican vote in which Scalise won 113-99.