Republicans on Friday abandoned the nomination of House speaker candidate Jim Jordan, making the decision behind closed doors after hardline allies of Donald Trump suffered a crushing defeat in a third gavel vote. .
Later, Jordan simply said of his colleagues, “We asked them questions and they made different decisions.”
The hard-charging Judiciary Committee chairman said House Republicans now need to come together and “figure out who our speaker is.”
House gridlock is deepening into a full-blown crisis, with Republicans having no realistic or workable plan to unite a fractured Republican majority, elect a new speaker and return to a Congress that has been embattled since the hardliners began Evict Kevin McCarthy At the beginning of the month.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise said they would “come back and start over” on Monday.
Angry, frustrated Republicans, who watched their majority control descend into disarray, blamed each other for the division after the closed session. Next steps are highly uncertain as lawmakers begin to float new ideas for possible speakers. But no one currently appears capable of winning a Republican majority.
“We’re in a very bad situation right now,” McCarthy said earlier.
Jordan knocked down the gavel for a third time in Friday morning’s floor vote, losing 25 of his Republican colleagues, a worse performance than his performance earlier in the week and well short of the majority needed, Because they rejected his hardline approach.
But after two failed votes, Jordan’s third attempt largely failed — in large part because of a growing number of centrist Republicans dissatisfied with the nominee and the hard-line tactics used to win votes. .They were bombarded with harassing phone calls Even reported death threats.
Ahead of the vote, Jordan showed no sign of stepping aside, insisting at a Capitol news conference: “The American people are hungry for change.”
But according to one of his opponents, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Jordan later told colleagues in a closed-door meeting that “I did the best I could.”
The gridlock has shut down the U.S. House of Representatives for more than two weeks, leaving the seat of American democracy severely hampered at a critical time. Challenges at home and abroad. The House Republican majority appears to have no idea how to end the political turmoil and get back to work.
With Republicans controlling the House by a 221-212 majority, any candidate can only lose a handful of critics. As of now, no Republican appears capable of winning an outright majority (217 votes) to become speaker.
In fact, far from winning votes, the hard-charging Judiciary Chairman actually lost them, matching the 20 he lost in earlier rounds this week and the 20 he later lost despite spending hours trying to win over his opponents. The situation is no better than 22 Republicans.
In Friday’s vote, Jordan received 194 votes, his lowest total to date; Jeffries received 210 votes, with two people from both parties absent.
“He didn’t get the votes to be speaker,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., said after a meeting late Thursday as Jordan tried to listen to critics and drum up support.
Diehards don’t want Jordan to “get nothing,” Gimenez said, adding that some lawmakers in the meeting simply called for Jordan to drop out of the race.
one Extraordinary ideas, Spokesperson pro tempore, Rep. McHenrywas given more powers over the next few months to at least allow the House of Representatives to reconvene and deal with important business, but was quickly rejected by Jordan’s own ultra-conservative allies.
Rep. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, said it was a “betrayal.”
The next steps are highly uncertain as angry, frustrated Republicans predict the House may remain largely closed for the foreseeable future — perhaps until a mid-November deadline for Congress to approve appropriations, or face a shutdown of the federal government risks of.
“We’re trying to figure out if there’s a way to come back with solutions that are uniquely Republican,” said Rep. Tom Cole, a senior Oklahoma Republican lawmaker.
“This is what a normal majority does. What this majority does is prove that it is not a normal majority.”
it is clear Jordan refused to step aside; Even as his path to becoming Speaker of the House nearly collapsed, he seemed determined to wait out his enemies.
Many believe Jordan, a founding member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, is too extreme for a central seat of American power, second in line to the presidency.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, voted against Jordan on the second ballot and said she had received “credible death threats.”
Democratic Leader Jeffries reiterated that his party is “ready, willing and able” to work with more traditional Republicans to reopen the House – especially as Congress is asked to consider President Joe Biden’s response to Israel, Ukraine and Ukraine aid program. other demands.
Lawmakers said Thursday’s closed-door reshuffle session became heated at times, with Republican factions blaming each other for throwing their majority into disarray.
Elevating McHenry to an expanded spokesperson role could be a possible way out of the crisis, but it’s not as politically straightforward as it seems.
Republicans are unwilling to work with Democrats in a bipartisan manner on this arrangement, and Republicans are unlikely to agree to give McHenry more power alone because their hardliners don’t like it.
McHenry himself declined attempts to serve in the position more permanently after being appointed to the position. McCarthy’s unprecedented ouster More than two weeks ago.
To win over his fellow Republicans, Jordan is relying on the support of Trump, the party’s front-runner in the 2024 election, as well as support from groups that are pressuring rank-and-file lawmakers to get out the vote. But they are not enough and, in fact, are counterproductive.
Jordan has been a top Trump ally, especially January 6 Capitol Attack The former president’s supporters are seeking to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden.Days later, Trump awarded Jordan Medal of Freedom.
Jordan was first elected in 2006 and has had few bills to his name since taking office. He also faces questions about his past.
A few years ago, Jordan Deny the accusation During his time as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State, former wrestlers accused him of knowing about claims that Ohio State doctors touched them inappropriately. Jordan said he was never aware of any abuse.
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