The U.S. House of Representatives once again deadlocked after rejecting Jim Jordan as speaker for a second time

WASHINGTON – Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan failed to win enough support from his fellow Republicans in his second bid for U.S. House speaker Wednesday, leaving the party deadlocked with no clear path to governing the chamber.

Jordan’s 200 votes in Tuesday’s first round fell to 199 on Wednesday, a sign from centrist Republicans that they are unlikely to be swayed by the pressure some of his allies have exerted to manipulate votes.

Jordan remained confident after the second round of voting and told reporters that he expects a third round to take place at some point. According to a schedule update that Republicans sent out delayed Wednesday afternoon, that vote will not take place until noon on Thursday.

“Speaker McCarthy, he had two months from when he was nominated for the conference to the first week of January,” Jordan said, referring to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. “So we’re right where he was and his numbers.”

Jordan plans to talk to Republicans who voted against him and hopes to win over those who voted for him on Wednesday back to his side.

“We received three votes today,” he said.

He noted that he also lost some votes, but “the people we lost…they voted for us before, so we just have to keep going.”

The inability of GOP lawmakers to unite behind a candidate after 15 days without a speaker intensified calls from centrist Republicans and Democrats for a consensus candidate or for the authorization of Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina to lead the chamber.

Republican Rep. David Joyce of Ohio was expected to introduce a resolution Wednesday naming McHenry speaker-elect pro tempore. Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Mike Kelly introduced one resolution Earlier this week, McHenry would be elected until Nov. 17, or until Republicans choose an actual speaker.

At some point, Jordan said, the House could vote to give McHenry more authority.

“There’s this solution,” Jordan said. “I think at some point that question should be asked, but of course that’s up to Patrick McHenry.”

McHenry’s election would authorize him to introduce resolutions and bills and perform several other duties that he did not perform as designated speaker pro tem Debate over how much authority he has in this role.

McHenry was named interim speaker-designate after eight Republicans and Democrats voted more than two weeks ago to remove McCarthy after a nine-month term as speaker. McHenry got the job because he was at the top of McCarthy’s list.

After 9/11, the role of designated interim speaker was introduced to ensure continuity of government in the event of a catastrophic attack. But the section of House rules that defines the role is somewhat vague, leading to debate among scholars and experts about whether McHenry has significant authority in the absence of an election.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said Tuesday evening that McHenry was among Republicans who might support Democrats.

“I have respect for Patrick McHenry. I think he’s respected on our side,” Jeffries said. “There are a number of other Republicans who are respected on our side. Jim Jordan is not one of them.”

Democrats, Jeffries said, were looking for “a bipartisan path forward that is authentic and sincere and that we want to agree on in good faith.”

Nomination of speeches

The disruption, which has dragged on for more than two weeks, has prevented the chamber from adopting bills and could sluggish down an aid package for Israel if the House fails to organize before the Senate approves the measure.

Wednesday’s plenary session began with nominating speeches from Jordan, a founder of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, and Jeffries, followed by a roll call vote in which each lawmaker was asked in alphabetical order to name their choice.

A total of 22 Republicans did not vote for Jordan, with many choosing to vote for Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise or McCarthy, although neither was formally nominated. Michigan Rep. John James voted for former GOP Rep. Candice Miller of Michigan, who now serves as Macomb County’s public works commissioner.

Several Republican lawmakers turned against Jordan by comparison Vote on Tuesday.

Republican Reps. Vern Buchanan of Florida, Drew Ferguson of Georgia, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa and Pete Stauber of Minnesota switched from supporting Jordan on Tuesday to opposing him on Wednesday.

Republicans Doug LaMalfa of California and Victoria Spartz of Indiana switched to Jordan’s support on Wednesday after voting against him on Tuesday. ​​Florida Rep. Gus Bilirakis, who was absent Tuesday for a funeral, voted for Jordan on Wednesday.

Republican representatives: Don Bacon of Nebraska, Ken Buck of Colorado, Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon, Anthony D’Esposito of New York, Mario Díaz-Balart of Florida, Jake Ellzey of Texas, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Carlos Giménez of Florida , Tony Gonzales of Texas, Kay Granger of Texas, James of Michigan, Kelly of Pennsylvania, Jen Kiggans of Virginia, Nick LaLota of New York, Mike Lawler of New York, John Rutherford of Florida, Mike Simpson of Idaho and Steve Womack of Arkansas , like all Democrats, voted against Jordan on Wednesday, just as they did on Tuesday.

An elected speaker pro tempore?

It was not immediately clear Wednesday how McHenry would approach the role if elected interim speaker. McHenry, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, has repeatedly told reporters that he has no interest in leading the chamber permanently.

Republicans would have to decide whether they want an elected McHenry to serve as a regular speaker, including negotiating with the other three congressional leaders and President Joe Biden on mandatory legislation – or whether they want him to simply join another Republican in doing so Take the floor to negotiate.

That includes talks with the Democratic Senate and White House on an aid package for Israel and Ukraine, final versions of the dozen annual government funding bills, the annual defense policy bill and the farm bill.

McHenry has a recent track record of crafting huge, bipartisan deals.

This spring, he and Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana negotiated debt limits with senior Biden administration officials. That legislation, passed with broad bipartisan support, also included overall spending levels for the current fiscal year and fiscal year 2025.

The pressure to choose Jordan backfires

Florida Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart told reporters before Wednesday’s vote that trying to threaten members who oppose Jordan was not the right way.

“As soon as you get into the strategy, you try to intimidate and threaten people. What is happening is that there are people here who are honorable and dignified and will not be threatened, and that just makes it worse,” Díaz-Balart said.

There would likely be “broad consensus” to ensure the legislation can be implemented across the House as Republicans continue to debate who should be their next speaker, he said.

“We have to be able to move things forward,” Díaz-Balart said. “I think … that there is a consensus that we need a process by which we can move legislation forward.”

But not all Republicans are sold on the idea of ​​a bipartisan approach.

House Majority Leader Tom Emmer, a Republican from Minnesota, told reporters before the vote that working with Democrats to choose a speaker was unacceptable.

“A democratic coalition government is a non-starter,” said Emmer. “We’re going to get Jim Jordan.”

Womack said after the vote, Republicans’ next step is to return to conference. He said there were three options.

The first is a third round, but he expressed skepticism that Jordan would be successful if another vote were called.

“I personally think it will be much worse if we get to a third vote,” he said.

The second option, Womack said, would be for Jordan to recuse himself and nominate McCarthy as speaker, and the third option is to temporarily empower McHenry.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania said he wanted Jordan to hold another ballot, arguing that the majority of Republicans voted for Jordan.

“The most important thing here is endurance,” said Perry.