House Speaker Election: Jim Jordan Loses Second Round As More Republicans Vote Against Him

Table Of Content

• Granderson: Arizona’s indictment of Trump allies follows a sordid, racist history
• Republicans won half of California’s U.S. House seats they lost in 2018. Here’s how
• Which Republicans voted against Jim Jordan's speaker bid Wednesday — and who changed sides?
• Jim Jordan Is Determined to Keep Losing Votes for Speaker
• How Different Factions Voted

More rounds of voting are expected as Jordan works to shore up support to replace McCarthy for the job and the leader of the GOP’s hard-right flank moves to take a central seat of U.S. power. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican and Jordan ally who has resisted party leadership in the past, said the holdouts on the House speaker vote would now be put through a “meat grinder” of pressure. The several times she ran for speaker, she faced a number of detractors in a closed-door conference vote but was able to clinch the gavel each time her nomination came to the floor vote. Rep. Jim Jordan lost 20 Republican votes Tuesday in his first round of balloting for House speaker, creating an uphill climb to win the gavel. Democrats have all voted for their leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, in each of the speakership elections.

Granderson: Arizona’s indictment of Trump allies follows a sordid, racist history

McCarthy says he does not expected another vote on House speaker right away. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is calling on Republicans to work with Democrats to elect a speaker. New Republican candidates can now declare next week, when Republicans will start the process all over again. A son of civil servants who cut his teeth as a litigator at a white-shoe law firm and at CBS, Mr. Jeffries rose swiftly through the ranks of Democratic politics in New York and then Washington. Since 2013, he has represented some of the nation’s iconic Black neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

Republicans won half of California’s U.S. House seats they lost in 2018. Here’s how

Garcia is a close ally of Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. "We should only wave one flag on the House floor, and I think we know which flag that is," Johnson said. Greene listed several reasons why she believes Johnson should not be Speaker, but she also said she wants to be "responsible" and not call for Johnson's resignation before garnering enough support. — An infant’s death prompts angry accusations in the Riverside County district attorney’s race. If California’s statewide primary election feels a little, well, meh in this homestretch of the voting season, you’re not alone.

Which Republicans voted against Jim Jordan's speaker bid Wednesday — and who changed sides?

Republican Jim Jordan loses first US House speaker vote, plays for time - Reuters

Republican Jim Jordan loses first US House speaker vote, plays for time.

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

The 14-member commission included five registered Republicans, five registered Democrats and four people registered without a political party. They were selected through a lengthy process run by the state auditors office. Voters created the commission in 2008 in an effort to remove partisanship from the process of drawing new political lines. Latinos, who account for 40% of California's population, will make up a majority of the voting-age population in 16 of the 52 new districts, said Evan McLaughlin, a redistricting expert who works with Democrats. Porter is a fundraising powerhouse with more than $14 million in her campaign account.

House Republicans chose Jordan as their nominee Friday after their initial pick, Scalise, dropped out of the race when it became apparent he did not have the votes to win. On Tuesday, Jordan became only the second speaker candidate since 1923 to lose the election in the first round of voting after 20 GOP members—more than expected headed into Tuesday’s election—cast their ballots for other candidates. All 212 Democrats voted for Jeffries on Tuesday, while 200 Republicans backed Jordan. The House is now in its third week without a leader as Republicans' path forward remained unclear. GOP Rep. Ken Buck, who opposed Jordan in both ballots, predicted that Jordan "bleeds three or four votes" if there are more rounds of voting ahead. "More and more members are going to be able to say, 'I voted for him the first two times, now we have to move on,'" Buck told CBS News' Major Garrett Wednesday on "The Takeout" podcast.

Jordan loses third round, with 25 GOP defections

After voting against Jordan, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) told reporters that he did not “see the outcome changing” and that he would back giving McHenry more power as acting speaker. If the House cannot elect a speaker, members could choose to empower Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.), who is serving as speaker pro tempore, to move crucial legislation. Former GOP House Speakers John A. Boehner, who received one vote Wednesday, and Newt Gingrich pushed for that solution in statements Tuesday. Twenty-two Republicans refused to back Jordan for the speakership, up from the 20 who would not back him on his first attempt Tuesday. All of the GOP lawmakers who voted against Jordan, a right-wing firebrand, backed more traditional Republicans, including former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

Jim Jordan Is Determined to Keep Losing Votes for Speaker

The House’s slim margin is what led to McCarthy’s removal at the hands of a band of eight GOP rebels – and now a similarly sized group of House Republicans could block Jordan’s ascension, too. Even as it was clear that Jordan had no clear path to becoming the speaker, no Republican emerged to seriously challenge him. Republicans currently have a Sunday noon deadline to announce their candidacy ahead of another round of speakership talks. The speaker runs the business of the House and controls the floor schedule and which bills come to the floor. 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. As they watched his attempt to end the tortured efforts to choose a new House speaker, the uncompromising figure he casts nationally is much the same as seen back home in the heavily gerrymandered, largely Republican, Fourth Congressional District.

Republicans had nominated Mr. Scalise as Mr. McCarthy’s successor, but he dropped out after he could not consolidate enough support to win the post on the floor. Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio lost a bid to become speaker on Tuesday after 20 Republicans refused to back him, prolonging a two-week fight that has paralyzed the chamber and underscored the deep Republican divisions in the House. Ms. Esch and her husband, Mike, 57 were both hopeful that Mr. Jordan would drum up the votes needed to take the speaker role on Wednesday.

How Different Factions Voted

Three of the bills were for aid to Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel and the fourth approved a potential TikTok ban if its parent company, China's ByteDance, does not sell it. A poll released Friday by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times found no challengers currently pose an electoral threat to Gov. Gavin Newsom or state Atty. In fact, the biggest surprise may be how lopsided the races could be once votes are counted. As for how bad — or not so bad — it might be, consider the historical markers.

After the third failed vote, Republicans took a vote by secret ballot on whether Jordan should remain the nominee. He lost that vote handily, losing his status as the Republican nominee for speaker. Jordan, a far-right Ohio Republican who co-founded the House Freedom Caucus, earned the nomination to be the conference’s next speaker on 13 October. He won the nomination with 124 of the House Republican conference’s 221 votes. In order to become speaker he needed to get 217 votes from all house members.

The Republican lawmakers behind the rebellion against now-former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy offered themselves up for punishment if the 25 GOP holdouts agree to support Jordan for speaker. There is now a secret ballot underway in the Republican Conference's meeting about whether Jordan should drop his bid to be the next House speaker, according to two lawmakers in the room. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Jordan confirmed the party chose to head in a different direction. "My hat is in the ring, and I feel confident I can win the votes where others could not. I have no special interests to serve; I'm only in this to do what's best for our Nation and to steady the ship for the 118th Congress," he said in a statement. 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.

“The last thing you want to do is try to intimidate or pressure me, because then I close out entirely,” Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican who opposes Jordan, told reporters earlier this week. Mr. Jordan said he would keep fighting to secure the majority of votes he needs to become speaker, and spent much of Wednesday afternoon meeting with some of the holdouts. But it was clear after the second ballot that there was no immediate end in sight to the stalemate that has left the House leaderless and in turmoil after two weeks of Republican infighting.

When Mr. McCarthy was booted out by a right-wing rebellion two weeks ago, the world learned that Mr. McHenry was the first name on his list. The vote underscored the deep rifts inside the House Republican conference, but it also signaled how far the group has lurched to the right. Among the 199 Republicans who voted for Mr. Jordan were many mainstream Republicans, including a dozen from districts President Biden won in 2020, all of whom were willing to give Mr. Jordan the post second in line to the presidency. But Republicans were divided even on doing that, with some Jordan loyalists arguing that it would set a damaging precedent.

She said it's not too late for the majority to choose a "bipartisan path forward to reopen the House." Republicans who voted against him early in the round included Reps. Don Bacon, Vern Buchanan, Rep. Ken Buck, Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Anthony D'Esposito, all of whom voted against Jordan in earlier votes. Jordan said Friday morning that he aimed to elect a speaker this weekend, and his next move will clarify whether he intends to go through with that plan.

A coalition of Republicans, led by Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), are considering filing a motion to extend the powers of Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) to allow him to bring legislation to the floor. As speaker pro tem, McHenry is currently limited to overseeing the speaker election, effectively stalling legislative business in the House. The GOP lawmakers are pushing the effort as the House faces pressure to begin negotiations on a fiscal year 2024 budget ahead of a November 17 deadline to avert a government shutdown and to pass legislation to aid Israel and Ukraine in their respective wars. On Oct. 3 a small faction of rebel Republicans ousted McCarthy with the help of the Democrats. Scalise dropped out of the race for speaker last week after it became apparent he didn’t have enough votes.