Jordan argued in a news conference Friday morning that he offered the best chance for Republicans to break the impasse triggered by the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker on Oct. 3. But Jordan’s desperate effort to appease his fellow Republicans failed as opposition against him grew.
McCarthy, the ousted speaker, nominated Jordan in a floor speech. His efforts to corral his party fell flat.
Twenty-five Republicans voted against Jordan on Friday morning, up from the 22 Republicans who opposed his candidacy on Wednesday. Twenty Republicans voted against Jordan in his first effort to secure the speakership Tuesday.
Jordan’s vote total of 194 was a new modern low for a majority party’s nominee for speaker.
Despite the grim reality, Jordan expressed optimism after the vote, telling reporters that “the ones we lost could come back.”
House Democrats again voted unanimously for their nominee, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who received 210 votes. But the 25 members who voted for other candidates ensured that neither man could secure a majority of the House.
Republicans’ frustration rose Thursday after a Jordan-backed effort to empower temporary speaker pro tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) to advance legislation vaporized before a floor vote.
“We made the pitch to members on the [McHenry] resolution as a way to lower the temperature and get back to work,” Jordan said to reporters Thursday. “We decided that wasn’t where we’re gonna go. I’m still running for speaker and I plan to go to the floor and get the votes and win this race.”
The House has been without a leader since eight Republicans, led by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, joined with all House Democrats to remove McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) on Oct. 3. The vote has left the House in disarray for weeks, as Republicans, who hold the majority, have argued over who should replace the Californian.
McHenry has led the House in a mostly ceremonial role since McCarthy’s ouster, using his position as speaker pro tempore to preside over Jordan’s three failed speakership votes.
House Democrats are likely to back legislation empowering McHenry under certain conditions. Jeffries has said he supports getting the chamber functioning again but he made clear his party will never back Jordan.
“Jim Jordan is a clear and present danger to our democracy,” Jeffries told reporters ahead of the vote. “We are saying to our traditional Republican colleagues, good men and women on the other side of the aisle: end the attachment to the extremist Jim Jordan and join with Democrats in finding a bipartisan path forward.”
At a news conference ahead of the third vote, Jordan said his defeats have left him unfazed, and suggested he would press ahead even if he lost again. McCarthy needed 15 votes, a modern record, to secure the speakership in January. McCarthy, however, never got as little support as Jordan did on Friday.