Jim Jordan out after third strike in House vote as Republican circus continues
Washington DC – The GOP dropped hard-line conservative Jim Jordan's as its nominee for speaker of the US House of Representatives after he failed in a third ballot on Friday, compounding the chaos that has left the government without a functioning legislative branch for weeks.
Underscoring the dysfunction plaguing the majority Republicans, the vote came after President Joe Biden had asked Congress for $106 billion in emergency funding – mainly military aid for Ukraine and Israel – but with no hope of a quick approval.
Jordan, a close ally of former president Donald Trump, lost the support of 25 members of his own party – with the tally of lawmakers backing his bid for the gavel worsening with each round of voting.
A closed door Republican session on Friday saw him then lose an internal vote to continue as the Party's nominee for speaker moving forward, with no plan as to who their new choice might be, the New York Times reported.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said another candidate forum would not happen until Monday night.
In the 17 days since Kevin McCarthy was removed in a rebellion by right-wing hardliners, no Republican has been able to muster enough votes to replace him.
"We're in a very bad place right now," McCarthy admitted after the latest setback, days after predicting that Jordan would win in the first ballot.
Who will be Speaker of the House?
Jordan, the chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee but a deeply divisive figure even in his own party, sought to rally support for his floundering bid in a press conference he called before his latest rejection.
"With great respect, it has become evident that Chairman Jordan does not and will not have the votes to become speaker," New Jersey representative Tom Kean, a previous supporter who flipped against the congressman, said in a statement Friday.
Several Republicans are considering speaker bids of their own.
Meanwhile, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who actually won the most votes out of all the candidates this week, called for a bipartisan choice for speaker, calling Jordan a "clear and present danger to our democracy."
"There are still reasonable Republicans over on the other side of the aisle, as I've repeatedly said – good men and women who want the House reopened," Jeffries told reporters.
Cover photo: WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP