WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Jim Jordan failed again Wednesday on a crucial second ballot to become House speaker, the hard-fighting ally of Donald Trump losing even more GOP colleagues who are refusing to give him the gavel.
Next steps were highly uncertain as angry, frustrated Republicans looked at other options. A bipartisan group of lawmakers floated an extraordinary plan — to give the interim speaker-pro-tempore, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., more power to reopen the immobilized House and temporarily conduct routine business.
What was clear was that Jordan’s path to become House speaker was almost certainly lost. He was opposed by 22 Republicans, two more than he lost in first round voting the day before.
“We picked up some today, a couple dropped off,” said Jordan, a founding member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, after the vote, vowing to stay in the race. “We’ll keep talking to members, keep working on it.”
The House came to another abrupt standstill, stuck now 15 days without a speaker, a position of power second in line to the presidency, since the sudden ouster of Kevin McCarthy. Republicans are upset and exhausted by the infighting, the vote for House speaker once a formality in Congress having devolved into another bitter showdown for the gavel.
Ahead of the morning vote, Jordan, the combative Judiciary Committee chairman, made an unusual plea for party unity.
“We’ve been at this two weeks,” Jordan said at the Capitol, almost daring his colleagues to put forward the alternative proposal. “American people deserve to have their government functioning.”
But as the rollcall got underway, the he lost more than he gained, picking up three backers, but facing more detractors.
The holdouts added to a surprisingly large and politically diverse group of 20 Republicans who had rejected Jordan’s nomination the day before, many resenting the hardball tactics seeking to enforce support, and viewing the Ohio congressman as too extreme for a central seat of U.S. power.
With Republicans in majority control of the House, 221-212, Jordan must pick up most of his GOP foes to win. Wednesday’s tally, with 199 Republicans voting for Jordan and 212 for Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, left no candidate with a clear majority, as the 22 Republicans voted for someone else.
One new Jordan opponent, Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, explained his vote, “I think it’s time to move on.”
Bipartisan groups of lawmakers have been floating ways to operate the House by giving greater power to McHenry or another temporary speaker. The House had never ousted its speaker before McCarthy.
The novel concept of boosting the interim speaker’s role was gaining favor with a pair of surprising high-profile Republicans: Former GOP speakers Newt Gingrich and John Boehner.
Gingrich said while he likes Jordan, he has “no faith” the nominee can get much beyond the 200 votes he won in the first vote.
“We can’t sit around and suck our thumbs and hope the world will wait until the House Republicans get their act together,” Gingrich told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on his show.
