Trump ally Jim Jordan emerges as next Republican House speaker nominee – as it happened – The Guardian US
This blog is now closed. House remains without speaker as Jordan only has a backing of 152 Republican members
Donald Trump ally Jim Jordan has emerged as the next Republican House speaker nominee following an internal vote amongst House Republicans.
The vote was reported to be 124-81, with 81 of the votes going to Georgia’s Republican representative Austin Scott.
BREAKING …
JORDAN – 124
SCOTT – 81
Jordan picked up just 25 votes. Scott, who didn't campaign for the job and got in minutes before the race, got 81 votes.
Jordan’s nomination follows a chaotic week in the House during which initial chief contender Steve Scalise dropped out on Thursday night after failing to secure enough support for a floor vote.
Jordan will now attempt to garner unified support for a bid ahead of a floor vote across a fractioned Republican-led House that includes several hard-line rightwing extremists.
We’re wrapping up our live US politics coverage today, with the US congress still in limbo during an international crisis because of infighting between different segments of the Republican party. Key things to know:
Trump ally Jim Jordan emerged as the next Republican House speaker nominee, after he won the largest share of support in an internal party vote.
But a subsequent internal vote, gauging whether Republicans were ready to formalize their support of Jordan in an official floor vote, showed that Jordan only has the backing of a reported 152 Republican House members, while 55 oppose him. Jordan needs a total of 217 votes in order to be elected speaker.
After this vote, Republicans decided to leave for the weekend with no further votes, giving Jordan and his allies time over the weekend to attempt to win over more Republican support.
It remains unclear if Republicans will hold an official floor vote next week to make Jordan speaker regardless of whether internal vote counting shows he has enough votes to win, a move that ousted speaker Kevin McCarthy has urged the party to try, but that Jordan has previously indicated he would oppose.
In another House spectacle, Republican representative George Santos flew into a tirade on Friday with someone who appeared to be a protestor, saying that he “has no business” of being at the Capitol and called him a “terrorist sympathizer.”
While yelling as cameras pointed in his face, Santos said, “What is happening in Israel is abhorrent. What is happening to the people of Israel should not be defended. Nobody defending Hamas should have any business in this building.”
Rep. George Santos (R-NY): "The gentleman back there is a terrorist sympathizer that has no business in this building… Nobody defending Hamas has any business in this building whether you're elected, whether you're a civilian." It is unclear who he is referencing. pic.twitter.com/K57QWsrq1S
As Jordan prepares to rally support, calls from some Republicans to fall in line
Earlier today, Georgia congressman Austin Scott ran against Jim Jordan in an internal Republican vote over who to support as the next House speaker. In a last-minute bid, Scott reportedly got 81 votes to Jordan’s 124.
Now, Scott is publicly rallying support for Jordan, as the Ohio congressman and Trump ally tries to pick up the 65 additional votes he would need to secure the speakership next week.
I highly respect Jim Jordan. He is an asset to the Republican Party and our nominee for Speaker. Our conference has spoken, and now we must unite behind Jordan so we can get Congress back to work.
Axios is also reporting, citing one unnamed GOP source, that Kevin McCarthy and Patrick McHenry have also urged fellow Republicans to fall in line behind Jordan, something they reportedly did not do after House majority leader Steve Scalise failed to get to 217 votes yesterday.
Per one source familiar, McCarthy and McHenry stood up and said Jordan will be speaker and called on members to get behind him despite the vote count.
Two sources noted McCarthy and McHenry did not rally behind Scalise following the vote yesterday in the same fashion.
Tweeting it out: frustration among GOP lawmakers is very public
Over the past few days, Georgia congressman Mike Collins’ social media posts have capture the anger and scorn at Republican infighting that many Republicans are feeling.
pic.twitter.com/9wytIr2q2f
2 more hours 'til we clock out for Friday!! Making a list. Am I missing anything? pic.twitter.com/YQvxWz26QM
Jim Jordan will work over the weekend to get more GOP support, CNN reports
With an internal vote putting Jim Jordan 65 votes short of the number he needs to become speaker of the house, the Ohio congressman will spend the weekend trying to woo some of his opponents, CNN’s Manu Raju reports.
Per multiple members, Jim Jordan will have private talks over weekend to see if he can win over holdouts and can get to 217
Then they will return Monday for meeting before floor vote next week
Question will be if JJ goes to floor lacking votes – something he didn’t want to do
Former GOP speaker Kevin McCarthy argued earlier today that the House should move forward and hold an official and public vote on whether to make Jordan speaker, even if internal votes have not shown that he has the support he needs to win that vote. Jordan, in contrast, suggested he did not want to move ahead to an official vote if it does not look like he could win.
Stalemate math: why Jim Jordan’s latest vote count is bad news for him
If you’re following along and need a recap of why the House of Representatives remains without a leader, and largely unable to function, here’s a reminder of the vote count math.
Last week, Kevin McCarthy, the GOP speaker of the house, was ousted from his speakership in a historic vote, in which a small group of Republicans who opposed McCarthy’s leadership joined together with the unified members of the Democratic party to vote McCarthy out.
Since then, House Republicans have failed to find a new speaker candidate who can unify the party, including anti-McCarthy and pro-McCarthy factions. As the AP puts it:
With the House narrowly split 221-212, with two vacancies, any nominee can lose just a few Republicans before they fail to reach the 217 majority needed [to elect a speaker] in the face of opposition from Democrats, who will most certainly back their own leader, New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries.
After GOP house majority leader Steve Scalise failed to get the votes necessary to move forward yesterday, Trump’s pick, Ohio congressman Jim Jordan, has taken the lead. But in the most recent internal vote today, with Republicans asked if they would vote for Jordan officially on the House floor, he was reportedly 65 votes short of the number he needs to win.
After more than a week of continued GOP infighting, Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman asked the obvious question: will Republicans ever agree on a candidate they can all support? Or will a GOP candidate have to get the backing of some Democratic members of congress in order to move forward?
It seems entirely possible, if not probable, that not one person in the House Republican Conference can win the speakership with GOP votes only.
Republicans will leave for the weekend with Congress in limbo, no speaker in sight
Punchbowl News, which has been ahead on the updates from Republicans’ internal negotiations, is reporting that Republicans have decided to give up for this week and go home.
This means that the US House of Representatives will remain unable to conduct official business during a major geopolitical crisis.
House Rs say they’re leaving for weekend with no speaker
Falling short, Jim Jordan gets support from 152 Republicans in internal vote: report
In the ongoing Republican battle over choosing the next Speaker of the House, Ohio congressman Jim Jordan, who earned Donald Trump’s endorsement for the role, is currently the leading contender
But in an internal Republican vote today, meant to gauge party support before an official floor vote in the House, Jordan captured just 124 votes.
So Republicans held another internal vote to gauge whether they were ready to hold a floor vote in support of making Jordan speaker. This time, Jordan picked up just 154 votes, far short of the 217 Republican votes he needs to be confident of winning an official vote to become speaker on the floor, PunchBowl’s Jake Sherman reports.
BREAKING — JIM JORDAN wins validation vote 152-55
WAY short of a total to be in a position to go to the floor.
He's 65 votes short of 217.
House Republicans are currently carrying out a second ballot on Jim Jordan and whether they want a floor vote.
“Will you support Jordan on the floor,” is the question, Punchbowl News’s Jake Sherman reports.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS are doing a second ballot right now on JORDAN.
"Will you support Jordan on the floor."
Donald Trump ally Jim Jordan has emerged as the next Republican House speaker nominee following an internal vote amongst House Republicans.
The vote was reported to be 124-81, with 81 of the votes going to Georgia’s Republican representative Austin Scott.
BREAKING …
JORDAN – 124
SCOTT – 81
Jordan picked up just 25 votes. Scott, who didn't campaign for the job and got in minutes before the race, got 81 votes.
Jordan’s nomination follows a chaotic week in the House during which initial chief contender Steve Scalise dropped out on Thursday night after failing to secure enough support for a floor vote.
Jordan will now attempt to garner unified support for a bid ahead of a floor vote across a fractioned Republican-led House that includes several hard-line rightwing extremists.
Meanwhile, House Republicans are currently holding their internal speaker vote.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS are holding their internal speaker vote now.
Earlier, CNN’s Manu Raju asked former House speaker Kevin McCarthy whether chief contender Jim Jordan should “battle it out on the floor” if he is short of 217 votes, to which McCarthy replied, “Yes.”
Asked McCarthy if Jim Jordan should battle it out on the floor the way he did in January if he’s short 217 votes. “Yes,” he said.
Jordan has said he wants 217 before going to floor.
Vote to nominate new GOP speaker candidate beginning this hour
While in Philadelphia to deliver remarks on Bidenomics, Joe Biden revealed that he held a Zoom call for an hour and fifteen minutes with the families members of “all those Americans who are still unaccounted for” in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
“It’s gut-wrenching. I assured them my personal commitment to do everything possible to return every missing American to their families,” said Biden.
“We’re working around the clock to secure their release of Americans held by Hamas in close cooperation with Israel and our partners in the region and we’re not going to stop until we bring them home,” he added.
House Republicans Mike Rogers of Alabama and Carlos Gimenez of Florida have voiced their speakership support for former House speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Asked by CNN’s Manu Raju whether the disarray could cost Republicans the majority, McCarthy, who said he will support Jim Jordan, responded:
“I think a lot of things have happened so far that make a real damage for us moving forward. I fear of different people retiring. I fear of having the resources to be able to do the job.”
Asked Kevin McCarthy if he’s worried this episode could cost them the House: “I think a lot of things have happened so far that make a real damage for us moving forward. I fear of different people retiring. I fear of having the resources to be able to do the job.” pic.twitter.com/AAYw2Qw4yO
House Republicans are set to hold a vote this afternoon on the House speaker.
Punchbowl News’s Jake Sherman reports that some Republicans are pushing for a floor vote today, despite the absence of many Democrats.
Additionally, Steve Scalise’s supporters have told Sherman that they’ll “never vote” for Jim Jordan who is currently the top contender.
Few things happening right now
– some Rs are pushing for a floor vote today. Lots of Dems aren’t here today. They tell us if they do a vote today they’ll move to vacate next week.
– scalise supporters are privately telling me they’ll never vote for Jordan.
– Tim Burchett just… https://t.co/airuWWPhan
Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy said today that he will support Jordan as the nominee.
California’s Republican representative Darrell Issa has also thrown his support behind Jordan, saying, “Jim Jordan is the one you want in the toughest of fights. There’s a reason why Jim has been named to select committees, tasks forces, standing committees, and is a leading voice for the conference on the issues that matter most.”
Issa endorses Jordan. Issa is next in line for the judiciary chair gavel, which will open up if Jordan wins the speakership. https://t.co/s66GA0jTNe