Republican Rep. Jim Jordan suffered a disastrous defeat in his first attempt to become speaker of the House of Representatives amid even more chaotic scenes in Congress.
Twenty colleagues voted against the firebrand GOP member, dooming his first shot at the top job. Now the House is in recess while Jordan meets with GOP holdouts to try to force votes.
The House is expected to move to its second vote on Tuesday – Jordan can cast as many votes as he wants, and it is not clear whether he would abandon his candidacy for speaker at any point. Kevin McCarthy served 15 rounds of voting before becoming speaker.
Republicans have been embroiled in a civil war since McCarthy became the first speaker in history to be ousted by colleagues two weeks ago when eight rebellious GOP members voted to remove him.
Within minutes of voting beginning, Jordan quickly lost the support of four Republican lawmakers — Reps. Don Bacon, Mario Diaz-Balart, Jake Ellzey and Anthony D’Esposito — effectively scuttling his first bid for speaker.
The number of defections continued to rise as more Republicans voted for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, party chairman Tom Emmer, Rep. Mike Garcia, former Rep. Lee Zeldin and others who were not on the speaker’s ballot stood.
It’s unclear whether the Republican hothead will immediately push for a second ballot or whether he will ask for time to win over the 20 Republican defectors who voted against him.
Republican dysfunction shows no sign of abating, and some fear it will only get worse for Jordan in further rounds of voting. Rep. Ken Buck — who voted for Emmer — told CNN that even though he voted for him, he “doesn’t like Tom Emmer.”
Jordan could only afford to lose three Republican votes to achieve a majority of 217, with all Democrats expected to vote for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Republican Representative Jim Jordan suffered a disastrous defeat in his first attempt to become Speaker of the House of Representatives
Congress has been paralyzed for two weeks and unable to conduct any business
It was the first time the House voted on a speaker since Kevin McCarthy was ousted two weeks ago.
Congress is paralyzed, unable to conduct business, and only has a month left before the government runs out of money again. The House of Representatives is also unable to vote on urgently needed aid to Israel after the brutal Hamas terror attack killed over 1,300 civilians and at least 29 Americans.
Jordan, founder of the House Freedom Caucus, emerged as the favorite after Rep. Steve Scalise suddenly dropped out last Thursday. Jordan, seen as a far-right alternative to the more established Scalise, worked overtime over the weekend to win Republicans over to his side.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Jordan for the Republican top job and reiterated his support in a post to Truth Social Tuesday.
Counting the votes of the first speaker
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. — 212
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio – 200
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. — 6
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y. — 3
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La. — 7
Rep. Mike Garcia, R-California. — 1
Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn. — 1
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. — 1
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. — 1
“Jim Jordan will be a GREAT Speaker of the House. “As everyone knows, I gave him my full endorsement a long time ago!”
McCarthy himself urged Republican holdouts to vote for Jordan – or vote “present” to lower the majority hurdle – so the chamber could quickly get back to business. He publicly supported Jordan in the recorded vote in the House of Representatives.
Answering a question from CNN on the way to the House floor, Jordan said members may vote on multiple ballots throughout the day to confirm a Republican leader.
“Whatever it takes to get a speaker today,” Jordan said of whether he would be willing to go through as many rounds as former Speaker McCarthy — whose confirmation took five days and 15 rounds in January.
In the first vote for McCarthy, 19 voted for a Republican other than him. By the 14th round there were only six objectors left.
The House Judiciary Committee chairman also noted that he did not ask Trump to help with the whip count on his behalf.
He did not respond to a question about a demand from his Republican colleague Ken Buck, R-Colo., that Jordan admit that the 2020 presidential election was not stolen.
In the hall, Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., gave a nomination speech for Jordan and praised his work.
“He is an America First warrior who wins the toughest battles – tackling corruption and ensuring accountability at the highest levels of government on behalf of WE THE PEOPLE.”
Democrats began chanting in support of Hakeem Jeffries – the incumbent minority leader – at the start of Rep. Pete Aguilar’s speech.
“Hakeem, Hakeem, Hakeem,” the enthusiastic Democrats shouted from the hall.
They also began shouting, “He said no,” as Aguilar listed the many Democratic priorities Jordan voted against, including Hurricane Sandy funding and others.
Aguilar called Jordan an “inciter of insurrection” — referring to his votes against certifying the 2020 election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Jordan and his allies spent the weekend pressuring holdouts to vote for him, with the unspoken threat that they might otherwise face a primary challenge given Jordan’s popularity among grassroots conservatives.
Rep. Don Bacon was the first member to cast his vote for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy — he shunned Jordan
Another McCarthy supporter, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, refused to vote for Jordan on the spot
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, the front-runner in the race to become the next speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, speaks with colleagues in the House of Representatives
Jordan and his allies spent the weekend pressuring holdouts to vote for him
House Republican chaos continued Tuesday when firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan failed to get enough votes to replace Kevin McCarthy as the new speaker
While the House of Representatives was in turmoil, its major arguments were on hold – a month from Tuesday, state resources will be depleted again. House Republicans had hoped to pass 12 single-issue federal funding bills by then, but it is almost certain they will need another continuing resolution (CR) to push back the funding deadline.
McCarthy put forward a CR, and that was the catalyst for his downfall — Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., had long promised to file a motion to resign if McCarthy extended state funding to 2023 levels, rather than 12 separate ones enforce bills.
Even if the House can pass all budget bills, it will have to work with the Senate to get the spending bills through the Democratic-led upper chamber. Jordan is not known for his ability to work across the aisle — another factor that could raise skepticism among moderates.
The outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas has also increased pressure as Congress must decide whether to offer more defense aid to Israel.
On the other hand, Congress is also divided over whether Ukraine should be offered more help in the fight against Russia.