Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is marching ahead with his Speakership bid despite increasingly grim signs for his path to the gavel, eyeing another floor vote on Thursday even as GOP lawmakers signal that his opposition is likely to grow.
“The expectation is, at least from the chatter I’m hearing, is that there will be some others that will move away from the Jordan candidacy,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), who voted for Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) on the first two ballots, told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s very clear that those numbers are not there and that it’s gonna get a lot worse,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), who also backed Scalise in the first two rounds of voting, said after Jordan’s second failed vote, noting that he does not think he has a path to the gavel.
One centrist Republican who supported Jordan on the first two ballots said they are planning to jump ship.
“I committed to two votes. I’m not able to on the 3rd,” the lawmaker told The Hill in a text message.
Another Republican told The Hill that slowly increasing the number of votes against Jordan is a strategy among those opposing the Ohio Republican.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is marching ahead with his Speakership bid despite increasingly grim signs for his path to the gavel, eyeing another floor vote on Thursday even as GOP lawmakers signal that his opposition is likely to grow.
The tally beat expectations from Jordan supporters, who had predicted he would lose around eight more Republicans, but it also marked the first time in nearly a century that a majority-party Speaker nominee received fewer than 200 votes.
Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) said Wednesday it is his “expectation” that the GOP conference will meet Thursday, which could present Jordan with an opportunity to regroup ahead of a third ballot.
Wednesday morning, before Jordan fell short on the second ballot, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) signaled he would introduce a resolution to formally install McHenry as Speaker pro tempore.
Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) said Jordan’s second failed vote “absolutely” further shows that it is time to expand McHenry’s powers, and Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) called that course of action “the most logical solution at this point.”
The Speaker saga is thrusting the House GOP conference into a sea of complicated dynamics as pressure mounts amid a looming government shutdown deadline and a conflict between Israel and Hamas.
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