Jim Jordan Wins GOP Nod for Speaker, But Hurdles Remain; Republicans Pick Jim Jordan as Nominee for House Speaker, Putting Job Within the Trump Ally’s Reach

By admin On Oct 13, 2023

WSJ: Jim Jordan Wins GOP Nod for Speaker, but Hurdles Remain

House Republicans chose Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) as their nominee for speaker, but it remained uncertain whether the fiery ally of former President Donald Trump could avoid the fate of Steve Scalise (R., La.), who also won an internal ballot but then failed to win enough broad party support to claim the gavel.

The speaker post has been vacant—and the House paralyzed—since a small group of party rebels last week engineered the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.). The GOP turmoil comes as Congress faces a mid-November deadline to fund the government. The fighting in Israel and Gaza has also added more urgency to restoring House operations, and GOP lawmakers have voiced increased exasperation with the state of affairs.

In a 124-81 vote Friday, Republicans picked Jordan, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, over Rep. Austin Scott (R., Ga,), a low-profile Republican who made a last-minute decision to run as the candidate for Jordan critics. Many Republicans are still smarting over the failed bid by Scalise, who won the party nomination but was forced to abandon his bid Thursday after several dozen colleagues declined to rally to his side.

In Friday’s tally, Jordan didn’t receive the 217 votes needed to assure Republicans of winning a majority of votes on the House floor. While that was impossible with only about 209 Republicans present, the results also pointed to the party’s broader problem: In the narrowly divided 221-212 House, Republicans can lose no more than four votes if all lawmakers show up and vote for an individual to serve as House speaker.

After the nomination vote, Jordan then called for a second secret ballot to directly test GOP support for his run on the House floor. In that vote, he got the support of 152 colleagues, with 55 against, more than enough opposition to block him from becoming speaker.

House Republicans will now break for the weekend, with a plan to bring a vote on elevating Jordan to the speakership once they get back, giving him a few days to win over his critics.

“I think I can unite the conference,” Jordan said, with supporters pointing to his popularity among grass-roots Republicans.

“A lot of people [are] still upset with a variety of occurrences over the course of this Congress,” said Rep. Dan Bishop (R., N.C.). “But the sense in that room was palpable that we’ve crested and we’re moving in a new direction,” he said. —>READ MORE HERE

Republicans pick Jim Jordan as nominee for House speaker, putting job within the Trump ally’s reach:

Republicans chose firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan as their new nominee for House speaker during internal voting Friday, putting the gavel within reach of the staunch ally of GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump.

Electing Jordan, a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, to the powerful position second in line to the presidency would move the GOP’s far right into a central seat of U.S. power. A groundswell of high-profile backers including Fox News’ Sean Hannity publicly pressured lawmakers to vote Jordan into the speaker’s office after the stunning ouster of Kevin McCarthy.

Jordan, of Ohio, will now try to unite colleagues from the deeply divided House GOP majority ahead of a public vote on the floor, possibly next week. Republicans split 124-81 in Friday’s private vote, though a second secret ballot nudged his tally higher.

“I think Jordan would do a great job,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said ahead of the vote. “We got to get this back on track.”

Frustrated House Republicans have been fighting bitterly over whom they should elect to replace McCarthy to lead their party after his unprecedented ouster by a handful of hardliners. The stalemate between the factions, now in its second week, has thrown the House into chaos, grinding all other business to a halt. Lawmakers left for the weekend, and are due back Monday.

Attention swiftly turned to Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman and founder of the far-right Freedom Caucus, after Majority Leader Steve Scalise abruptly ended his bid when it became clear holdouts would refuse to back his nomination.