POLITICS
Jim Jordan Vows To Remain In Race For House Speaker After Losing First Two Rounds Of Voting
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The U.S. House of Representatives remains paralyzed in its third week without a speaker, and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has vowed to stay in the race after failing to secure a majority in the first two rounds of voting.
Without an elected speaker, the House cannot pass any legislation, including international aid, as war in Israel nears the two-week mark.
President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver a primetime address from the Oval Office at 8 p.m. ET Thursday to discuss the U.S. response to both the conflict in Israel and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Later this week, Im going to ask the United States Congress for an unprecedented support package for Israels defense. We are going to keep Iron Dome fully supplied so it can continue standing sentinel over Israeli skies, saving Israeli lives, Biden said during remarks in Tel Aviv Wednesday.
He is also expected to ask Congress to pass additional funding for Ukraine, which was firmly rejected by more conservative House Republicans during budget negotiations last month.
McCarthy was ousted by just a handful of Republicans after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) filed a motion to vacate the chair, forcing a historic vote on whether to keep McCarthy, which he lost 216–210. He was the first House speaker in U.S. history to be removed by a floor vote.
McCarthy struggled to unite House Republicans behind a budget deal to avoid a government shutdown, as the more conservative flank led by Gaetz pushed for deep domestic spending cuts and objected to sending more aid to Ukraine, which continues to fight off a Russian invasion that began last year.
House Republicans nominated Jordan, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the leaders of the impeachment inquiry into Biden, but in a vote in the full House on Tuesday, 20 Republican lawmakers voted against him. They voted for alternative candidates, including McCarthy and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who withdrew from consideration last week. McCarthy and Scalise both voted for Jordan.
We must stop attacking each other and come together. Theres too much at stake, Jordan posted Tuesday evening on X, formerly Twitter. Lets get back to working on the crisis at the southern border, inflation, and helping Israel.
In a second round of voting on Tuesday, Jordan lost 22 Republican votes. With the entire House voting, Jordan can only sacrifice a few Republican votes due to the party’s slim majority. It took 15 rounds of voting for McCarthy to secure the gavel.
Scalise, the majority leader and second-ranking Republican in the chamber, put himself forward as a candidate, but withdrew last week after failing to secure enough votes for the speakership.
There are still some people that have their own agendas and I was very clear: We have to have everybody put their agendas on the side and focus on what this country needs, Scalise said in a statement announcing his withdrawal. There are some folks [who] really need to look in the mirror over the next couple of days and decide: Are we going to get it back on track? Or they’re going to try to pursue their own agenda? You can’t do both.
On Tuesday, he was met with a standing ovation from Republicans after casting his vote for Jordan.
Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina remains interim speaker, with limited powers, until a speaker is elected.
TMX contributed to this article.
