Posted on 10/18/2023 11:05:20 AM PDT by Red Badger
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) suffered another loss in the Speaker’s race Wednesday, failing to win the gavel on a second ballot of voting after a growing number of Republicans declined to support his bid.
Twenty-two Republicans withheld support from Jordan.
The vote was 199 for Jordan, 212 for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), five for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and seven for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.). Ten people voted for someone else.
The GOP opposition was less than what some Republicans — including Jordan allies — had predicted, but the tally is nonetheless an embarrassing setback for Jordan.
Twenty Republicans withheld support from Jordan on Tuesday, leaving him short of the majority vote needed to clinch the gavel on the House floor.
On Wednesday, four more Republicans flipped their votes from Jordan to another candidate. Two opponents flipped their votes to Jordan, and one Republican who was absent on Tuesday voted for Jordan Wednesday.
The loss will likely fuel GOP calls to empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) as the Republican conference remains divided over who should wield the gavel with the House still at a standstill.
Jordan and his supporters tried to manage expectations ahead of Wednesday’s vote, telling reporters and writing on social media that the Ohio Republican was likely to lose GOP votes on the second ballot.
“I know we’re gaining. We’ve got one member who switched, we got another member coming back. We may have some who, you know, switch the other direction, but we’ll see,” Jordan told reporters when asked if he will lose votes from Republicans in the second round of voting.
“Just so there’s no surprises: Jordan will likely have FEWER votes today than yesterday — as I expected. This is the fight – which Jim Jordan represents – to end the status quo, and it ain’t easy…Stay strong and keep praying,” Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote on X.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) had predicted that 28 Republicans would withhold support from Jordan on the second ballot.
Jordan, nonetheless, remained confident in his chances of clinching the gavel, telling reporters ahead of the vote that he would still have a path to the Speakership even if he were to bleed support on the second ballot.
“I think so. I do,” he said when asked if he will still have a path to winning. “We’re continuing to talk with colleagues, more importantly listen to colleagues, so, and we’re gonna continue to do that.”
Jordan, the founding chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, secured the GOP nomination for Speaker last week, besting Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) in a 124-81 vote. In a second vote that asked members if they would support Jordan on the floor, the final tally was 152-55.
Jordan’s nomination, however, only came after Scalise, who initially won the GOP nomination, withdrew from the race. Scalise beat Jordan in a 113-99 internal vote, but a number of Jordan supporters said they would not back the majority leader — enough to deny him the gavel. Jordan then threw his hat back into the ring.
Jordan made progress in decreasing his opposition over the weekend, which was clear when four key holdouts announced on Monday that they would flip their stance to support the Ohio Republican. The quartet expressed opposition to Jordan last week.
That momentum, however, was not enough to put Jordan over the finish line. Some Republicans are still angry about McCarthy’s stunning ouster, and others are frustrated with how Scalise was treated as the GOP nominee.
People need to pick the right person in Republican congressional primaries, not just rubberstamping a name on the ballot that a recognize. Sadly, this will never happen.
They have to vote again on the budget on Nov 17, right? Any prediction as to whether this Speaker fight will make it either more or less likely that they will shut down the government?
The Deep State refuses to let go.
They cannot allow a change in the way things happen in Washington under any circumstances.
Not smart to vote-out a leader without knowing whether his replacement will be worse.
The right people don’t usually have any ambition to run for Congress.
The Hill is absolutely giddy about this: “tally is nonetheless an embarrassing setback for Jordan.”
What a contrary bunch
Tired of losing yet? I passed that point well before the 2020 general election.
That would be a good thing.....................
And therein lies the problem. The Demorats would unify behind one candidate period.
I say it’s best for the American people if there is no speaker. Just keep voting for whoever and let the government permanently shut down.
You have a problem if you believe McCarthy was a leader.
I fail to see that it is an embarrassment. It’s just politics.
Democrats are much better at being Democrats than Republicans are at being Republicans.
What’s the value of a party? Can anyone cite one or two benefits that come from having a Republican party nowadays?
I can’t.
Jordan’s strategy, weak as it is, is to rely on public pressure to force the Traitorous Twenty to change their votes. If they do, it will confirm the power of the people and their own spinelessness. If they continue to refuse to vote for Jordan, I refer back to the question above. What difference does it make whether they have an R or D after their name?
“his replacement” Jordan is far superior in every way more than McCarthy! Why do you think that so many ‘rats’ and rinos are against Jordan. He is MAGA and he can help fix DC shithole.
Also known as choosing to against behaving responsibly and inability to think two days ahead.
Let's all request a comprehensive DRUG TEST for Madman Gaetz.
Oh it's much more likely now. The vast numbers of congresspeople who opposed the ouster of McCarthy are going to make Gaetz and whoever supported him in doing this pay in the most humiliating and painful way possible. Be prepared for shutdowns, us now going back to Omnibus bills instead of the separate ones that were lined up, and Gaetz probably being expelled, or close to it.
It's unfortunate, as my posting shows Gaetz has long been my favorite congressman, but he completely overplayed his hand on this one, and didn't have any sort of endgame planned out.
The House is equally balanced right now and not in favor of any small groups trying to force it hard one way or another. We were making some progress with McCarthy, who I'm no fan of, but most of the pledges he made were kept. All that will probably be lost now, if not more. I hope I'm wrong, but there's no reason to think anything good will come of this now.
The RINOs do not realize the kamikaze mission they have put themselves on.
IF, as they claim, this chaos is going to cost the GOP control of the US house, these 22 are the most likely to lose their seats. So essentially they are omitting political suicide in the mistaken notion this will help them in next years election
As long as they can tout name ID, they will survive most primary challenges.
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