Still no white smoke: Ohio elected official Jim Jordan, Donald Trump’s running mate, failed to become House leader in the first round of a crucial election on Tuesday, plunging the institution into crisis.
• Also read: The US Congress will vote on a new speaker of the House of Representatives on Tuesday
However, the 50-year-old could maintain his candidacy for the position of “speaker” for several rounds, so it is still possible that he gets the seat.
The American Congress has two chambers: one, the Senate, is won by Joe Biden’s Democrats, the other, the House of Representatives, is in the hands of the Republicans and has been experiencing unprecedented chaos for two weeks.
This institution has been without a “speaker” since the historic firing of Kevin McCarthy on October 3, stripping it of many of its powers, including the adoption of support measures for Israel or Ukraine.
Ukraine, Israel
Since the conservatives have a majority in the House of Representatives and are therefore responsible for electing the president, they have been exposing their differences over the appointment of a successor to Kevin McCarthy in broad daylight for two weeks.
After numerous very slow negotiations, Ohio representative-elect Jim Jordan, a close confidant of Donald Trump and a member of the party’s most conservative fringe, is currently the only Republican candidate in the race.
However, he failed to gain the support of enough of his colleagues to make it to the top spots in a plenary vote in the chamber.
20 elected Republicans, mostly moderates who criticize Jim Jordan for his extreme positions, voted against his candidacy.
A notable fact that his critics have pointed out: Jim Jordan, elected to Congress in 2006, never managed to pass even the slightest bill in his name. And according to several rankings, he is considered one of the least productive elected officials in the House.
However, this election could take place over several days: fired “Speaker” Kevin McCarthy had to fight for 15 rounds and swallow more than one snake to reach the election in January.
Republicans want to avoid at all costs a repeat of this humiliating scene, which was captured on television across the country earlier this year. So far in vain.
The Senate mobilizes for Israel
In an institution still marked by the attack on the Capitol, Democrats are denouncing Jim Jordan’s ambiguous stance on the 2020 presidential election, an election that Donald Trump still describes without evidence as “stolen.”
The elected representatives of Joe Biden’s party, a minority in the House of Representatives, all ran for the candidacy of their leader Hakeem Jeffries, but also did not have enough votes to win the presidency.
The pressure on the House of Representatives to become functional again is all the greater because the Senate, the other chamber of Congress, is already preparing a large amount for Israel.
This will include “military, diplomatic, humanitarian and intelligence assistance – all things that Israel needs,” Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday, hoping it could be passed “within the next few weeks.”
The Senate is also scheduled to consider a resolution condemning Hamas and debate the confirmation of a new ambassador to Israel on Wednesday.
“As Israel’s closest ally, the United States must lead by example and support its defense efforts for as long as necessary,” emphasized its Republican leader Mitch McConnell.