Representative Jim Jordan Fails to Secure the Speaker of the House Position on First Vote
AI Created Picture of Jim Jordan
The Speaker of the House remains vacant. The current leading nominee for the position, Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), failed to win the gavel on his first attempt. Jordan received 200 votes, coming up short by 17 votes, with 20 Republicans voting for different people.
Since the first vote, 3 of the Republicans who voted against Jordan said they remain steadfast in their opposition to Jordan, while Rep. LaMalfa (R-Calif.) said he plans on voting for Jordan in the next vote, signaling his vote for McCarthy was out of respect for the work that McCarthy did as speaker.
Jordan came in second during the Republican Conference nomination vote on October 11, gaining 99 votes, compared to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who received 113 votes. However, after failing to secure enough unofficial votes for him to get the 217 needed, Scalise withdrew his nomination from the speakership.
A second vote was held on October 13, with Jordan getting 124 votes compared to Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA.), who gained 81 votes. Issues arose for Jordan shortly after with the validation vote. 55 House Republicans said they would not support Jordan and his bid for the speakership on the floor vote.
The vacancy of the speakership comes after Rep.Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) became the first Speaker of the House to lose the position after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.) exercised the option to trigger a vote of no confidence given by McCarthy in exchange for the support of Gaetz and other members of the House Freedom Caucus. 8 Representatives voted again McCarthy, ousting him from the role on October 3rd.
Republicans
If the struggle to find a Speaker of the House continues into November, Republicans can face massive consequences in the future. The Federal Government will enter a shutdown on November 17th as a budget for 2023-2024 was never passed by the House.
Democrats
On the other side of the aisle, all 212 Democrats voted for Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY.) to be speaker. It shows a unified front from the Democrats. More good news for the Democrats as growing calls for a coalition of Democrats and Republicans to support Jeffries could place enough pressure on moderate Republicans to vote for Jeffries. Only 5 Republicans are needed to cross the line for Jeffries to win the speakership. Democrats have continued to criticize Jordan as the selection, mentioning his lack of action during his tenure as a Congressman and his support for President Trump’s claims of election fraud in 2020.
