Trump loyalist Jim Jordan lost the Republican nomination for US House speaker Friday after a secret ballot of GOP lawmakers, several lawmakers said.
House Republicans voted 112 to 86 in a closed-door meeting to rescind the nomination, opening the way for alternative candidates to emerge. Earlier in the day, Jordan lost a third ballot of the full House for election as speaker with increasing numbers of GOP lawmakers abandoning support for him.
“We’ll have to go back to the drawing board,” former Speaker Kevin McCarthy said.“We’re in a very bad position as a party.”
Among the Republicans who have announced or are strongly considering a bid for speaker are Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Jack Bergman of Michigan, Austin Scott of Georgia and Jodey Arrington of Texas. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the party’s chief vote counter, said it was “too soon” to decide whether he would run.
“We need to come together and figure out who the speaker is going to be,” Jordan said after Republicans voted to rescind his nomination. “It’s time to unite.”
Republican lawmakers decided to go home for the weekend and will hold a forum for speaker candidates on Monday, several lawmakers said.
The House is paralyzed because of the leadership vacuum, unable to act on President Joe Biden’s $106 billion request for emergency aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and border enforcement or on funding to avoid an impending mid-November government shutdown.
Bitter divisions among Republicans over tactics and ideological purity have only hardened in the succession fight since eight conservative hardliners overthrew McCarthy on Oct. 3.
Gaetz, who led the ouster of McCarthy, criticized Republicans’ abandonment of Jordan as “swampy tactics.”
Twenty-five Republicans voted against Jordan on Friday, up from 22 in a second ballot on Wednesday and 20 in an initial vote earlier in the week.
--With assistance from Mackenzie Hawkins and Maeve Sheehey.
Author: Billy House, Erik Wasson and Ari Natter
