FIRST ON FOX: Members of the House Freedom Caucus are demanding that Congress remain in session until a new speaker is elected, as the House of Representatives enters its fourth week since the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
House Republicans on Friday, after three rounds of failed floor votes, voted to fire Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as its nominee for speaker of the House. Jordan is a member of the House Freedom Caucus.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REMOVE JIM JORDAN AS SPEAKER NOMINEE
House Republicans are set to meet Monday night to discuss a path forward and hear from speaker candidates. The next earliest floor vote on the prospective nominee likely won’t be until Tuesday.
Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Scott Perry, R-PA. (Pool)
But members of the House Freedom Caucus are urging House leadership to keep Republicans in Washington until the next speaker is chosen, saying “no speaker, no recess.”
“The House Republican Conference must remain in Washington DC until a new speaker of the House is elected,” the House Freedom Caucus said in a statement Monday. “Republican leadership should have kept Republicans in Washington over the weekend. Our work is not done.”
Members of the House Freedom Caucus said Republicans are “starting from ground zero after Jim Jordan, who may be one of the most popular Republicans in the country, was rejected by House Republicans.”
“We must proceed with all possible speed and determination,” they said. “Deliberate and unnecessary delays must end.”
The House Freedom Caucus said it only serves “swamp lobbyists and defenders of the status quo to continue to drag this process out.”
MULTIPLE HOUSE SPEAKER CANDIDATES FLOAT AFTER FAILED JORDAN BID AS GOP PLAN TO RETURN MONDAY
“The Speaker Pro Tempore and Republican leadership should keep Republicans in Washington as long as necessary and proceed to elect a new Speaker of the House without delay,” they said.
The demands came after Republicans huddled behind closed doors on Friday, after Jordan failed to get enough support on a third ballot on the House floor.
US Rep. Jim Jordan is speaking to the press. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Twenty-five Republicans voted for other than Jordan. Three people who voted for Jordan in previous rounds switched their votes against him: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Marc Molinaro, RN.Y., and Thomas Kean, RN.J.
At this point, nine Republicans have emerged as official candidates to replace McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker.
WHY JORDAN CAN’T GET THE SPEAKER GAVEL AFTER THREE BALLOON BALLOTS
Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla., was one of the first GOP lawmakers to throw his hat in the ring Friday afternoon.
Representative Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Retired Marine Corps Gen. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., on Fox News Digital that he is officially entering the race after receiving calls from “across the spectrum” of the GOP asking him to run.
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Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who was named by GOP lawmakers on the House floor during Jordan’s bid, is also running for speaker, his office told Fox News Digital.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., is also running, as are Reps. Mike Johnson, R-La.; Austin Scott, R-Ga.; Pete Sessions, R-Texas; Dan Meuser, R-Penn.; and Gary Palmer, R-Ala.
Liz Elkind of Fox News contributed to this report.
