Republicans Nominate Jim Jordan for House Speaker
Key Highlights :
House Republicans voted to nominate Rep. Jim Jordan for speaker of the House after Majority Leader Steve Scalise dropped his candidacy, launching a tumultuous process to fill the vacant role. Following Scalise's withdrawal, Jordan won the support of 124 of his Republican colleagues in a closed-door meeting, but still fell far short of the 217 votes that will likely be needed to win the speakership on the House floor.
With the House Republican Conference divided and unable to unite behind a single candidate, the future of Jordan's bid for the speaker's gavel is uncertain. Moderate Republicans have already expressed opposition to the Ohio conservative, while a follow-up vote revealed that he has a steep hill to climb to secure the required support among his own members.
The House has been at a standstill since last week's unprecedented ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, leaving one chamber of Congress effectively paralyzed until a speaker is elected. The chaos among Republicans comes as lawmakers are confronting a fast-approaching Nov. 17 deadline to fund the government and rising pressure to respond to the war in Israel and Gaza.
Supporters of Jordan have suggested he can win the gavel, though the possibility of a protracted fight among Republicans over a speaker candidate has prompted some questions of whether the House should act to temporarily expand the authority of Rep. Patrick McHenry, who is leading the chamber in the interim as speaker pro tempore. Some members have also raised the possibility of a consensus candidate if Jordan fails to secure the required support to become speaker.
Now, Jordan must try to win over his detractors and bring the fractured Republican conference together in order to secure the necessary votes to become the next speaker of the House. Until then, the House will remain in recess and the future of the speakership remains uncertain.
