Republican lawmakers fired Rep. Jim Jordan as their nominee for speaker of the House of Representatives after his failed bid to secure the gavel for the third time.
It’s unclear who the GOP will nominate next and whether any Republican candidate can get the votes needed to become speaker. The House has been without a leader for more than two weeks, with no clear path to end the impasse as Congress faces a deadline to avoid a government shutdown and the White House calls for immediate security assistance for Israel.
Jordan insisted on staying in the race despite repeated failures to secure the gavel as support for his bid eroded with each successive House vote. On Friday, 25 Republicans voted against Jordan, who boasts the support of former President Donald Trump. Twenty-two voted against him in the previous vote.
Republicans met behind closed doors to reconsider Jordan’s nomination after his failure on the House floor. GOP lawmakers abandoned him at the cost of a vote of no confidence.
Republicans will now head home for the weekend and reconvene on Monday, when they will meet for a candidate forum at 6:30 pm ET. They will then aim for a vote at the GOP conference at 9 a.m. Tuesday, with the goal of having a floor vote as soon as that morning, according to interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, RN.C.
Next?
Now that Rep. is gone. Jim Jordan, here are the Republicans running or thinking of running for speaker, as of Friday afternoon:
- Rep. Kevin Hern, Oklahoma
- Rep. Jack Bergman, Michigan
- Rep. Mike Johnson, Louisiana
- Rep. Tom Emmer, Minnesota
- Rep. Byron Donalds, Florida
- Rep. Jodey Arrington, Texas
- Rep. Roger Williams, Texas
- Rep. Pete Sessions, Texas
- Rep. Austin Scott, Georgia
- Rep. Dan Meuser, Pennsylvania
Source: NBC News
Before losing the nomination, Jordan sought to continue entering the weekend. He cited the 15 rounds of voting that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy needed before getting the gavel.
“There was a lot of swinging of votes for speaker then — we all know that,” Jordan told reporters at a news conference Friday morning, ahead of the vote. “Our plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected in the House as soon as possible so we can help the American people.”
McCarthy formally nominated Jordan before the House on Friday. Lawmakers laughed as the California Republican addressed the chamber.
“Being a speaker is not an easy job, especially at this conference,” McCarthy said. “I saw that Jim spent his entire career fighting for freedom. No matter what, no matter the odds – and I knew he was up for the job.”
US Republican Representative from Ohio Jim Jordan speaks during a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 19, 2023.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic candidate for speaker, called on Friday for moderate Republicans to abandon Jordan and work on a bipartisan solution to end the impasse.
“End attachment to extremist Jim Jordan and join Democrats in finding a bipartisan path forward,” Jeffries told reporters. “We recognize that Jim Jordan is a clear and present danger to the American people. And we will be here as long as it takes to end this national nightmare.”
Jordan’s failure on Friday came after Republicans abandoned a proposal to temporarily give McHenry the power to oversee the passage of legislation until the party’s deep divisions settle on a permanent replacement.
Democrats have expressed openness to supporting McHenry. The interim speaker received six Republican votes Friday.
Republicans appear to have no viable path to choose a speaker more than two weeks after a faction of eight GOP lawmakers led by Rep. Florida’s Matt Gaetz sacked McCarthy.
Gaetz said Friday that Republican holdouts were venting their anger over McCarthy’s ouster by blocking Jordan from becoming speaker.
US Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) sits with fellow lawmakers as the House of Representatives votes for the third time on whether to appoint Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as Speaker of the House at the US Capitol on October 20, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
“Eight of us said we are ready to accept censure, sanctions, suspension, removal from the Republican conference,” Gaetz told reporters. “If what these holdouts need is a pound of our flesh, we’re willing to give it to them to see Jim Jordan elected speaker.”
Before the third vote on Friday, Rep. Bob Good of Virginia said Jordan would win if the House held repeat ballots, noting that the wall of opposition to McCarthy’s January speaker bid was not broken until the 12th round. Good was one of the Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy earlier this month.
The leadership vacuum in the House has left Congress unable to pass spending legislation, with the clock ticking toward a Nov. 17 to avoid a government shutdown.
Congress also failed to address what President Joe Biden described as urgent national security priorities. Biden said Thursday he would ask Congress to pass security aid for Israel as it battles Hamas, as well as for Ukraine as Kyiv battles Russian aggression.
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