Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, was not elected speaker of the House on the first ballot.
This setback was predicted by Jordan and his friends, and he is likely to request additional vote rounds.
20 Republicans abstained from the vote in the House, which favored Jordan 200 to 232. Several members, including former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, supported former candidates for the position.
Within the first 10 minutes of the protracted vote, it became evident that Jordan lacked the support necessary to prevail in the first round. To win the gavel, Jordan will need to persuade almost every Republican to back him.
Before the lengthy and oftentimes boisterous vote, every member of the House present in Washington was summoned to the chamber. Nearly every seat was packed, and occasionally people stood to jeer and cheer.
Members who were still in favor of Scalise and McCarthy gave tepid applause or cheers after Jordan was defeated by fellow opponents. The loudest cheers from the GOP, however, came when Scalise and McCarthy stood to support the party’s current candidate for the position.
Members who disapproved of Jordan’s track record, those concerned that Jordan may alienate voters in pivotal swing districts, and some who are still enraged that McCarthy was fired in the first place are among the holdouts. Members of the Appropriations and Armed Services Committees made up a sizable portion of the complaints; both of these committees have grave doubts about Jordan’s ability to adhere to simple governmental obligations like supporting the government or approving military spending requests.
When the House clerk declared the first round of voting to be over, the members of those factions huddled in corners.
Members gathered in the chamber for the vote after a difficult morning. Jordan and his pals entered and exited the speaker of the house’s office while carrying a sign with McCarthy’s name on it. Republicans have been gathering in the elegant office complex frequently over the past few weeks as they struggled to find a leader who could bring them all together.
As they passed the door, tourists and tour guides made jokes about how perhaps today would finally be the day that the McCarthy sign was taken down.
Republicans are being pushed to calm the chaos.
Jordan continued his extensive push to persuade Republicans to support him in the hours leading up to the vote. Jordan and his supporters have been attempting to persuade skeptics over the past few days that he can put his background as a bomb-throwing outsider behind him and lead the splintered party in an important election year.
Jordan told reporters Monday night in the Capitol, “The American people deserve to have their Congress, the House of Representatives working.” “We can’t have that until we have a speaker.”
Prior to the vote, Republicans conducted one last closed-door meeting Monday night where members could voice their concerns, complaints, and inquiries for Jordan. Despite mounting pressure on party members to pick a leader and move on, many people exited the meeting skeptical that Jordan is the best person to guide their group.
To win the gavel, Jordan can only afford to lose a small number of Republicans. According to Jordan’s advisers, a second referendum will be held if he does not receive enough votes on the first one. Although more ballots might be needed, Jordan’s friends believe that the public vote will compel participants to stand in line.
Jordan has the support of former President Trump, and many saw the vote to elect him speaker as a demonstration of the party’s public support.
Holdouts are still not persuaded. Jordan is a capable leader.
Before the vote, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told reporters that he intended to vote for McCarthy and that it is “unacceptable” for a small portion of the majority to dictate conference policy.
President Biden won the seat that Bacon represents in 2020, and he expressed concern about other Republicans who were not “playing by the rules.”
“It’s not about Jim – it’s about Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise and how they were treated,” said Bacon. “I understand that people may have various perspectives on this. A speaker is required. The world is currently on fire. But I didn’t put us there; neither did we. We are in this situation because of the small clique that eliminated Kevin and then obstructed Steve.
Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican from Colorado, also declared he would not vote for Jordan. Jordan’s part in promoting rumors that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Trump has drawn criticism from Buck.
“I do think that the the 20 Republicans who are in Biden districts have a problem if everybody in leadership is saying the election is stolen,” Buck told reporters on Monday.
Jordan’s long history of opposing spending legislation worries some of the other members. The decision-making process for the following speaker will involve money for border security, military assistance to Israel and the Ukraine, and a forthcoming deadline for funding the government by November 17.