Rep. Jim Jordan might get sufficient support to become a speaker; if not, what happens? For weeks, Congress has been in disarray.
The state of disarray on Capitol Hill hasn’t subsided since coming within hours of a partial government shutdown at the start of the month, thanks to a leadership crisis inside the GOP.
Democratic legislators have mocked the chaos, and Republicans are unsure what will happen next in the procedure. However, there are various possibilities for resolving the speakership dispute in the coming weeks.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced his candidacy for speaker after eight Republicans voted along with every Democrat to depose previous Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Jordan emerged as the next in line to strive for an agreement this week after barely losing a conference vote for the nomination of Rep. Steve Scalise earlier this week. After Scalise resigned, many members felt it was appropriate to give Jordan an opportunity to gather votes.
Jim Jordan came up hundreds of ballots short of the 217 Republican votes required to gain the speakership on the House floor on Friday. In a secret ballot vote Friday, 55 Republican members signaled they would not vote for Jordan on the floor. Jordan received more than half of his conference’s votes as their choice for speaker.
It will be difficult to change those votes, but if Jordan can persuade enough Republicans to endorse his candidacy, he might become the next speaker.
Jordan has indicated that he intends to bring the vote to the House floor, where Republican members’ votes would be publicly recorded. However, it is uncertain how quickly this could occur.
Multiple senators have told the News that there will be no votes on the floor until the next GOP conference gathering, which will take place either Monday or Tuesday.
If Jordan cannot persuade a majority of his party to support him as speaker, the party’s leadership will have to look for a new candidate.
If Jordan did not Receive the Necessary Votes
Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., anticipated ahead of the conference vote Friday that Jordan would not receive the necessary votes and that other contenders would enter the race.
Jordan will not be elected. I’m not sure who can get the votes. Then four or five additional members of Congress who are really, I think, quite strong members will enter the race, Buchanan said to reporters.
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., ran for speaker alongside Jordan late this week but backed down after dropping the first secret GOP ballot on Friday.
Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern indicated an interest in competing for speaker before the Scalise-Jordan vote. And, according to a news source, he endorsed Jordan’s recent bid during the GOP caucus meeting on Friday. It’s uncertain whether he’ll run if Jordan’s campaign falls through.
Two members told News Digital previously this week that Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, the House GOP’s No. 3 leader, had been considering a run for speaker behind the scenes while openly supporting Scalise. However, Emmer has not publicly stated his intention to run for speaker.
A few Republicans have proposed calling on someone from outside the House. Former President Donald Trump is willing to serve as acting Speaker of the House if Republicans cannot agree on a replacement.
According to the Constitution, the House speaker does not have to be an elected legislator. However, no one outside of Congress has ever been appointed to the position.
One unlikely option would be for moderate Republicans to reach an agreement with Democrats in order to secure a bipartisan majority in order to elect a nominee. However, there are numerous challenges to this idea.
Democrats will almost certainly vote for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, as they did in every speaker vote in January. And it’s improbable that any Republican would vote for a Democrat.
No Republican will decide to vote for a Democrat, Virginia Rep. Bob Good said this week. Even the most moderate colleagues would commit political suicide.”
Even Republicans in the Problem Solvers Caucus, a significant nonpartisan group in the House, have grown tired of working across the aisle since Democrats joined the eight GOP hardliners in voting McCarthy out.
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