Jim Jordan lost a second House speaker vote Here's what happens next.

Table Of Content

• Joe Biden stays out of speakership race
• GOP are lying to themselves in thinking that the MAGA wing is helping grow the party, CNN's Abby Phillip says
• McCarthy Loyalists
• The House will vote again Thursday while some are working to empower the temporary speaker to move legislation
• GOP voters turning on House Republicans, poll shows
• Elections
• Donald Trump ally Jim Jordan loses vote for US House Speaker

Jordan, in an effort to show party unity, nominated GOP leader Kevin McCarthy in the second round of voting. Speaking on the House floor Tuesday, Jordan said the differences among Republican lawmakers “pale in comparison” to the differences between Republicans and Democrats. Conservative hardliners nominated Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on Tuesday to be speaker of the House during the chamber’s second and third votes amid the floor fight for House leadership. Jordan won over some members who voted against him on Tuesday, but he lost others. Jordon told reporters afterward that he hasn’t decided if he will pursue a third vote.

Joe Biden stays out of speakership race

Victoria Spartz of Indiana is one Republican to watch — she voted against Jordan on Tuesday. Representative Ann Wagner of Missouri voted for Jordan on the first vote, after saying she was a “hell no” beforehand. There was some chatter she might defect, but she votes for Jordan again, which was a bit of a surprise. They delighted at her vibe, like a fed-up teacher overseeing a rabble of children, made memes of her roll-calling and dubbed her “mother,” an honor sometimes bestowed on beloved women (a notable fellow mother to her devoted fans is Taylor Swift). Mr. Buchanan was joined by Representative Drew Ferguson of Georgia, another Scalise supporter who backed Mr. Jordan on Tuesday but cast his ballot on Wednesday for Mr. Scalise. Mr. Jordan must secure a majority in the chamber — 217 if all members are present and voting for a person — to become speaker.

GOP are lying to themselves in thinking that the MAGA wing is helping grow the party, CNN's Abby Phillip says

As the main investigative panel in the House, the Oversight and Reform Committee has the authority to probe the federal government and its agencies, including matters within other committee's jurisdictions, according to the House website. Democrats traditionally use the seniority system to select chairs and ranking members on committees, and they do not enforce term limits. House Republicans adhere to a six -year term limit for chairs and often see competitive races for top committee gavels, like Appropriations and Ways and Means. Spartz, who lives in Noblesville, was reelected in 2022 to her second term representing the state’s Fifth Congressional District, which stretches north of Indianapolis. The feeling in McCarthy’s camp is that this fight with the Freedom Caucus — which forced him to drop out of speaker’s race in 2015 before it went to a vote — has been a long time coming, and now it’s time for everyone to put their cards on the table.

McCarthy Loyalists

Mr. Jordan won 199 votes and Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader, won 212 votes. Four Republicans who had voted for Mr. Jordan on the first ballot rose to oppose him, and two Republicans who had voted against Mr. Jordan on the first ballot changed their votes and supported him. Kelly introduced a resolution that would elect McHenry speaker pro tempore until Nov. 17 or until a new speaker is elected, whichever comes first. Former GOP Speakers Newt Gingrich and John Boehner also encouraged the House to expand McHenry's powers.

Jordan could stay in the race and continue trying to win over Republican holdouts. Or he could drop out and the GOP could go back to square one, restarting the process of nominating a candidate for the role. “My hope is he continues to be a leader within our conference,” Bucshon wrote. Democratic Rep. Andre Carson posted on X Tuesday evening saying Democrats were united despite the “unprecedented and brutal display of partisan infighting” from House Republicans. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2021 rejected McCarthy’s pick of the two Republicans as members of the select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. In a statement exclusive to IndyStar, Banks said he believes Jordan will pass a conservative agenda.

GOP voters turning on House Republicans, poll shows

The proposal had gained more supporters as of Wednesday morning, including at least one Republican member, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Washington — GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio failed in his second attempt to become speaker of the House, again falling short of the 217 votes needed to be elected and casting doubt about the way forward in the still-leaderless lower chamber. Banks quickly expressed his support for Jordan on Wednesday after thanking McCarthy for his service in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday night. Banks was among seven Hoosier Republicans in the House that voted against removing McCarthy as speaker. Turner, however, hopes both parties can put their political differences aside so the committee can focus on its duties. He said in an interview with the New York Times last month that should he become committee chair, he plans to work with Democrats so committee members can focus on the nation's national security and intelligence needs, in spite of pressure from his own party.

Republicans last year fielded several extreme-right congressional candidates who were popular with the base but ultimately could not win general elections in competitive districts, leaving them with a razor-thin majority in the House. A new generation of hard-liners has been able to exploit the tiny governing margin. Mr. Jordan, the hard-right Ohio Republican, has scrambled to gather the 217 votes he needs to win the gavel, with lawmakers and activists close to him taking to social media and the airwaves to encourage voters to browbeat wary Republicans into supporting Mr. Jordan. Representative Jim Jordan and his allies have deployed a right-wing pressure campaign against Republicans opposed to electing him speaker, working to unleash the rage of the party’s base voters against any lawmaker standing in his way. Immediately after losing on the House floor, Mr. Jordan held a series of meetings with the holdouts, finding himself in a deeply uncomfortable situation. Since Republicans control the House with only four votes to spare, a small hard-right minority has flexed its muscles repeatedly to the consternation of the mainstream conservatives who form the bulk of the conference.

GOP tensions reignite after Jim Jordan loses first House speaker vote - Axios

GOP tensions reignite after Jim Jordan loses first House speaker vote.

Posted: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Next House Speaker vote expected Thursday after second Jordan defeat - Fox News

Next House Speaker vote expected Thursday after second Jordan defeat.

Posted: Wed, 18 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

But unlike his predecessor, Mr. Jordan has refrained from making specific promises to win over holdouts, according to lawmakers who have spoken with him. Instead, he has given skeptics vague assurances that strongly suggest he would prioritize their goals — such as averting a government shutdown and continuing to fund the war in Ukraine — without explicitly pledging to do so. Jason Blazakis, a Democrat seeking to challenge Representative Tom Kean of New Jersey, has already sent out a statement using Kean’s vote for Jim Jordan to cast him as an extremist — the sort of attack Republicans in swing districts were undoubtedly worried about. “After weeks of dysfunction, Tom Kean was unable to deliver and caved to the MAGA extremists in his party, leaving our country and New Jerseyans to pay the price,” Blazakis said. Russell Dye, a spokesman for Jim Jordan, says the House “needs a speaker as soon as possible” and to expect another round of votes today. Before his loss, Mr. Jordan said he was willing to force multiple rounds of votes — “whatever it takes” — to win the speakership, and with his opponents’ names now on the record, right-wing activists were bombarding them with calls.

"President Biden is not going to let these political attacks distract him from focusing on Americans' priorities, and we hope congressional Republicans will join us in tackling them instead of wasting time and resources on political revenge." The House is expected to pick a new speaker soon, but regardless of who's leading the chamber, lawmakers have a lot to do in the next six weeks. Spartz drew headlines earlier this year when she voted “present” multiple times during the long process to elect McCarthy as Speaker. Members can vote for anyone, and they can protest by skipping the vote or voting “present.” If enough people skip the vote or vote “present,” the number of votes required for a majority can drop below 218. A warning sign for Kevin McCarthy – conservative supporter Rep. Ken Buck says he believes the House GOP leader will eventually lose more backing if the voting drags out.

Among them were the chairwoman and several members of the powerful Appropriations Committee, as well as half-dozen Republicans from politically competitive districts won by President Biden. It is not an approach that builds consensus — a previous Republican speaker called him a “legislative terrorist” — even as he has steadily parlayed it into political success. No sign of movement from the bloc of New York Republicans who have opposed Jordan.

The timing depends on how long it takes Jordan to connect with the 20 who voted against him. I just spoke with Christina Bohannan, a Democrat who is challenging Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa’s First Congressional District. She views Miller-Meeks’s vote for Jordan as out of step with Iowans in her district. She notes that Jordan has never voted for a farm bill, which couldn’t be more critical to Iowa, and that more than 60 percent of Iowans reject his position in support of a nationwide abortion ban. Her comments are a reminder that Democrats think the chaos and extremism on display in the House will help them win back control in 2024. Representative Ken Buck of Colorado, a Republican who voted against Jim Jordan, said an immense pressure campaign has been unleashed on Republicans by Jordan’s allies.

The talks have gained urgency as war has broken out between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and lawmakers increasingly worry that the House will be unable to act on that crisis — or make any progress on a measure to fund the government and avoid a shutdown next month. In the absence of a clear path forward, there was growing discussion about holding a vote to approve giving Mr. McHenry control over the House floor until the deadlock could be broken, perhaps through Jan. 3. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican who opposes Jordan and has said he will not be persuaded to change his mind, also posted on social media to urge giving McHenry more authority. In the short term, Jordan could call another vote to try to shore up his support.

Democrats have so far offered no help on what they call "a Republican problem", voting unanimously each time for their leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York. The 20 Republicans who voted against Jordan include House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger of Texas, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado and a quartet of New York Republicans in purple districts. The anti-Jordan contingent cast six votes for McCarthy, seven votes for Majority Leader Steve Scalise and three for former New York GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin, among other alternatives.

On the flip side, 27% said they are “not every closely” keeping up, and 21% said not at all, which means 48% aren't that interested. But another 35% said they are “somewhat closely” watching the situation unfold, which means 52% are keeping up. This depends largely on how you want to read a Yahoo News/YouGov survey released Tuesday. Sixty-six percent of voters say conservative Republicans share “some” or a “great deal” of blame for the current gridlock, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, in which respondents were allowed to pick more than one choice. He co-founded the House Freedom Caucus in 2015, which has taken a hard far-right stance on issues and was one of the driving forces behind former House speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, resigning.

Neither man was in the running, however, so voting for them merely had the effect of denying Jordan that vote. Twenty GOP lawmakers voted against the Ohio Republican, revealing a significant uphill climb for his bid for speaker. Ahead of a second speaker vote that will be another major test for Jordan's bid for speaker, a key GOP lawmaker is calling to empower acting speaker Rep. Patrick McHenry instead. Committees still continue their work, but the House floor can only hold speaker votes to elect a new leader and nothing else. In his nominating speech, Cole noted that he opposed the efforts to oust former speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Following McCarthy’s removal, House Republicans have been consumed by chaos and disarray, unable to coalesce behind any candidate for speaker.

After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and Trump refused to concede while making claims of election fraud, Jordan supported lawsuits to invalidate the election results and voted not to certify the Electoral College results. Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma nominated Rep. Jim Jordan as House speaker for a second time, one day after Jordan failed to secure enough votes Tuesday in the first round of voting. “My hope, now that it’s clear Jim Jordan lacks the votes to be speaker, [is] that those conversations will accelerate this evening,” Jeffries told reporters. Because of the entrenched Republican opposition, Jeffries once again won more votes than Jordan on the second ballot. In his nominating speech for Jeffries on Wednesday, the House Democratic caucus chair, Pete Aguilar of California, boasted about Democrats’ unity and reiterated his call to moderate Republicans to join them in forming a bipartisan coalition. "It's clear he doesn't have the votes," Mike Lawler of New York, who voted against Mr Jordan on both occasions, told reporters.