October 17, 2023 Jim Jordan fails to win House speakership on first ballot

Table Of Content

• McCarthy says speaker vote expected to remain same Thursday: 'Wouldn't read anything into the votes'
• GOP senators urge House to move past 'family fight' in speaker election as McCarthy win uncertain
• Ronna McDaniel's challenger for RNC chair says after losses like midterms, leaders should 'move on'
• McCarthy nominates Jordan ahead of third round of voting
• McCarthy’s political machine spent millions helping to elect lawmakers now blocking his speaker bid

At least a handful of holdout Republicans are refusing to give Jordan their votes, viewing the Ohio Republican as too extreme to be second in line to the presidency. Members of the House are getting settled in for what is expected to be multiple rounds of votes for speaker. Jordan typically skips a suit jacket, but he was donning one Tuesday as his colleagues prepared to vote on whether to elect him House speaker. He has said he wants Jordan to clearly state that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.

McCarthy says speaker vote expected to remain same Thursday: 'Wouldn't read anything into the votes'

In the second ballot, Jordan lost more ground than he gained, winning 199 votes, compared to the 200 he won on the first ballot. But that idea was met with stiff opposition from dozens of GOP lawmakers and Jordan soon backtracked, saying he would instead move forward with more floor votes. That would mean 214 votes are needed for a majority, assuming none of those absent make it to the floor in time to vote. Jordan lost five Republicans before the House, voting alphabetically, reached the names beginning with "F," placing him on the path of losing a third round of votes for speaker. Jordan said Friday morning that he aimed to elect a speaker this weekend, and his next move will clarify whether he intends to go through with that plan. The latter approach has not been successful so far, and there are no signs that his holdouts would be willing to come to his side.

GOP senators urge House to move past 'family fight' in speaker election as McCarthy win uncertain

More rounds of voting are expected as Jordan works to shore up support to replace McCarthy for the job and the leader of the GOP’s hard-right flank moves to take a central seat of U.S. power. Jordan fell significantly short of winning the speaker’s gavel on a first ballot Tuesday, leaving the House in paralysis after 20 Republicans opposed the Ohio congressman. Some on the right opposed to Mr. Emmer cited his vote in favor of codifying federal protections for same-sex couples. Others railed against Mr. Emmer’s vote in favor of a stopgap spending bill put forward by Mr. McCarthy, the speaker at the time, to avert a government shutdown.

Ronna McDaniel's challenger for RNC chair says after losses like midterms, leaders should 'move on'

"From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have been governing for the people," Jeffries said. "We continue to look forward to finding bipartisan common ground whenever and wherever possible." He noted that Democrats provided support for legislation to raise the debt ceiling, avoid a government shutdown and provide disaster relief funding. Johnson returned to the House to applause from those in the chamber, and McHenry called the House back into order. "I think all the American people at one time had great pride in this institution, but right now that's in jeopardy," he said. "And we have a challenge before us right now to rebuild and restore that trust."

Failed to become speaker after three floor votes, facing increasing opposition from his own party in each vote. Mr. Johnson faced no opposition from his own party, and won in a party-line vote. In previous rounds of voting, as many as 25 Republicans opposed their party’s nominee. An earlier version of this article misstated the number of votes Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana received in House Republicans’ internal election to choose a speaker nominee. On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson was toiling to help Republicans turn the page from the chaos of the past few weeks. He said there would be none of the typical celebrations that accompany the election of a new speaker.

Jim Jordan falls short a second time; House speaker vote still looms - NBC News

Jim Jordan falls short a second time; House speaker vote still looms.

Posted: Wed, 18 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said House Republicans elevating Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the House speaker nominee proves that the MAGA movement still has a hold on the Republican Party. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee compared Republican speaker-designate Mike Johnson (R-LA) to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), saying the Louisiana Republican is just as extreme as the failed speaker hopeful. He was orchestrating and manipulating the entire situation,” Mace told Fox News. I returned home so I could be with her for the surgery and meet with her doctor. I am now en route back to DC where I hope to be able to vote again for Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker.

House ousts Kevin McCarthy as speaker in historic vote - NBC News

House ousts Kevin McCarthy as speaker in historic vote.

Posted: Tue, 03 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

With Republicans having 222 members in the chamber, McCarthy could only afford four defectors. Several holdouts remained in the vote, including Reps-elect Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who voted for Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; Eli Crane, R-Ariz., who voted for Biggs, and Matt Rosendale, R-Maryland, who voted for Biggs. A silence looms over the House chamber late Friday evening after a 14th vote appears to have resulted in Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., falling short of becoming its next House Speaker.

McCarthy’s political machine spent millions helping to elect lawmakers now blocking his speaker bid

Lawmakers vote to elect a House clerk — and other House officers — when a new Congress gathers every two years. That usually happens right after the speaker election — meaning even once the House chooses its speaker, it may go on to nominate and potentially elect a different clerk. Johnson has calmly guided proceedings, including doing the time-consuming and repetitive work of calling on lawmakers to make nomination speeches and cast their votes. Aaron Fritschner, chief of staff for Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., tweeted this morning that the House Democratic whip told them not to leave Washington until a speaker is elected.

Johnson told Fox News Digital that he hopes "whoever House Republicans elect Speaker will be fully committed to conservative principles and restoring function and fiscal sanity to the federal government." After several minutes, it was announced that all 434 members were present -- normally there are 435, but Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Va., died shortly after the midterm election. Kevin McCarthy won a standing ovation on the House floor as he was nominated to be the next House speaker. The failure to reach 218 was widely expected, and McCarthy himself indicated that he expected a few rounds of voting. “Maybe Jim Jordan is the right person for speaker of the House because he is not beholden to the lobbyists and special interests who have corrupted this place and corrupted this nation under the leadership of both Republicans and Democrats," Gaetz said.

Rep.-elect Ken Buck, R-Colo., had to leave the nation’s capital Thursday afternoon for a medical appointment but is expected to return Friday, but after the first vote. Buck has voted for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in eight of the 11 votes so far, missing votes 9-11. But it is unlikely that McCarthy or anyone else will win on the twelfth ballot today.

He pointed to the fact on the first ballot he had a similar number of defections as former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy who was still able to win the gavel in January after 15 ballots. Jordan said the expected return of Florida Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Jordan supporter who missed the first vote to be at his mother-in-law’s funeral, should help him and insisted they are chipping away at the holdouts. It was a notably different posture than the one McCarthy took toward Scalise, his former top deputy who has long been seen as his potential rival. McCarthy did not give a speech after Scalise secured his party nomination on Wednesday, sources said. By Tuesday evening, five more Republicans, none with a national profile, were vying for the nomination. Mr. Johnson won after multiple rounds of ballots, beating out Representative Byron Donalds of Florida, a member of the Freedom Caucus.

After a mob of Mr. Trump’s supporters, believing the election was rigged, stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 and injured about 150 police officers, Mr. Johnson condemned the violence. But he defended the actions of congressional Republicans in objecting to Mr. Biden’s victory. On the eve of the Jan. 6 votes, Mr. Johnson had honed his arguments undermining the election to be more palatable. He presented colleagues with arguments they could use to oppose the will of the voters without embracing conspiracy theories and the lies of widespread fraud pushed by Mr. Trump. Mr. Johnson instead faulted the way some states had changed voting procedures during the pandemic, saying it was unconstitutional.

Rep.-elect Byron Donalds, R-Fla., was nominated by Rep.-elect Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., as an alternative Republican candidate ahead of the vote starting. "Even having my favorite president call us and tell us we need to knock this off, I think it actually needs to be reversed," Boebert said. "The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that sir, you do not have the votes and it's time to withdraw."

After the comment, Bost stood up and yelled out to Gaetz, angrily pointing at the representative as he shouted. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida accused Rep. Kevin McCarthy of 'vanity' in his now twelve consecutive failed attempts to secure the Speaker of the House position. "What I trust is that he's gonna do the job necessary to lead our conference and lead the House of Representatives," Donalds, R-Fla., said when Fox News Digital asked whether he can trust the House GOP leader. "Is there anything you have to say to New Yorkers who feel disappointed that you were not truthful in your biography?" Santos was asked.