Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) failed to get the necessary number of votes on Tuesday to become speaker of the House on the first ballot.
The founding members of the House Freedom Caucus needed 217 votes to win the gavel, but had to sweat for 200 votes – as 20 Republican conference members opted to support another colleague.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) received all 212 votes from the unified Democratic conference.
Jordan’s spokesman has announced that another round of voting is expected Tuesday evening, with two sources telling The Post 6pm is targeted as the time for the House to reconvene.
But after hours of closed-door talks that failed to convince the detainers, Jordan emerged from the whip’s office shortly after 5pm to announce that there would be no vote.
“No one in our conference wants to see any kind of coalition government. So we will continue to work,” Jordan told reporters, referring to the possibility of moderate Republicans and Democrats working together to select a speaker.
“We will get votes,” he added. “We have to have a speaker and it can’t be a deal with the Democrats.”
The House will reconvene at 11 a.m. Wednesday for a second vote.
Jordan, who also chairs the House Judiciary Committee, has vowed to defend as many votes as necessary to win the gavel.
Of the 20 Republican opponents, seven supported Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), whose own bid for speaker failed after a day of conference meetings and was never voted on.
Another six endorsed ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), while a trio of New Yorkers named former Long Island congressman and 2022 gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin.
Rep. Jim Jordan failed to receive enough votes to become speaker of the House. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
“I want a speaker who understands the unique needs of Long Island,” Rep. Anthony D’Esposito told The Post in a statement. “Restoring SALT cuts, protecting 9/11 victim support funding, and investing in critical infrastructure are our top priorities. I look forward to discussions with the candidates.”
A single vote was cast for Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who voted for Jordan, could not say how many rounds the speaker indicated he would be willing to win the gavel but added that the vote tally “surprised” him.
“Nothing in this building is easy,” he told reporters, saying he did not expect the number of votes to reach the 15 required by McCarthy in January.
Donalds also predicted that a speaker would be chosen later this week.
But there is little sign of any GOP lawmakers reversing their position anytime soon.
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“Support [for Jordan] will continue to bleed,” a House Republican aide predicted.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) was one of the last Republicans to go on record with support for Jordan ahead of the vote, as was Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who in a statement denounced the “208 aides and aides” in the Democratic caucus “that allow 8 extremists to punish bipartisanship” in the House.
“Can any of my 216 colleagues who voted to impeach Speaker McCarthy honestly say that if Hamas had attacked Israel the day before the Impeachment Vote, that they would still have voted to impeach Speaker McCarthy?” he asked.
Fitzpatrick, however, said Republicans “must elect a speaker and reopen the government ASAP,” citing Americans held hostage by Hamas terrorists, the war in Ukraine and a potential invasion of Taiwan by Chinese forces.
Members skeptical of Jordan raised the issue of security funding for Ukraine and Israel amid the ongoing war and the need to approve further government funding by November 17 among their concerns.
Jordan’s allies worked by phone and social media over the weekend and into Monday in an effort to overturn the last few “no” votes but were ultimately unsuccessful.
A House GOP aide who spoke to The Post wasn’t sure whether the Ohio Republican’s strategy of going on the field despite not having a vote would force some lawmakers to turn on the next vote.
But another aide predicted that once the call vote reached four “no,” “more” House Republicans would join the effort to rein in Jordan.
That was the case for Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), who voted late on the roll call for Emmer, and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), who dropped her support for Jordan over the past week alone to vote for Massie, a staunch Jordan ally.
Buck has said Jordan’s failure to confirm that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election was a red line issue for him, though a Republican aide responded by directing The Post to an effort Buck joined that year to overturn the presidential election results in the battleground state. .
Founding members of the House Freedom Caucus needed 217 votes to win the gavel, but had to sweat to get 200 votes.C-SPAN
“I think what Jim Jordan needs to do is stop talking about funding the DOJ,” Buck told CNN after the vote. “We are proud to be a party of the rule of law. You can’t deny the DOJ or the special counsel’s office.”
“I will not vote for Jim Jordan,” he insisted.
But when asked if he wanted Emmer to be the speaker, Buck joked: “No, I don’t. I don’t like Tom Emmer.”
“The Speaker’s office is the toughest job in Washington. I’m not going to pray for my best friend,” Buck later posted on X.
Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) was the only Republican lawmaker missing from the House vote, meaning 220 Republicans and 212 Democrats were present for early voting. Bilirakis is expected to attend and vote on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Speaker pro tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) has voiced the view that he would be temporarily granted additional powers by a bipartisan deal, despite a letter from House Democrats floating such a deal on Friday.
The last Speaker of the House to be elected by a minority party vote was Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) in 2001, although a lone vote from former Democratic Rep. James Traficant of Ohio was not needed for Hastert’s 220-206 vote.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
