Jordan Falls Short Again For Speaker as More Republicans Defect

With faltering support and determined opposition, Mr. Jordan must decide whether to continue balloting in hope of reversing the trend or withdraw from the race.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) (R), Republican Speaker designee, talks to his Chief of Staff Kevin Eichinger as the House of Representatives votes for a third time on whether to elevate Jordan to Speaker of the House in the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 20, 2023 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Rep. Jim Jordan was unsuccessful in gaining the speakership of the House of Representatives on a third ballot cast on the morning of Oct. 20, falling 21 votes short of the number needed to elect.

The number of Republicans not voting for Mr. Jordan grew to 25 from 22, an indication of the increasing resistance to his candidacy. Mr. Jordan had lost Republican votes on the second ballot as well.

The House went into immediate recess following the failed vote, according to custom. Mr. Jordan, who had projected optimism about winning the race prior to the vote, did not immediately indicate whether or not he would proceed to a fourth ballot. But earlier in the day he suggested the House might continue working over the weekend to elect a speaker.

Call for Unity

Before the vote, Mr. Jordan held a press conference, appealing to fellow Republicans to act quickly to elect a speaker, enabling the House to reopen and attend to the critical issues facing the country.

“We need to get to work for the American people,” Mr. Jordan told reporters. “We need to do what we told them we were going to do when they elected us and put us in office. And, frankly, we can’t do that if the house isn’t open. And we can’t we can’t open the house until we get a speaker.”

Matters awaiting congressional action include determining support for Israel and Ukraine, completing the appropriations process to avoid a government shutdown, and resuming the oversight work of Congress, Mr. Jordan said.

Allies Stick With Jordan

Over the preceding days, allies of Mr. Jordan had been steadfast in their support, saying they would support him for as long as he remained in the race.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made the nominating speech for Mr. Jordan’s third ballot, calling him an effective legislator. Mr. McCarthy sought to counter the Democrats’ assertion that Mr. Jordan had not passed any legislation during his tenure.

“To legislate is about more than the name on the bill. It’s about reaching compromise and working long hours behind the scenes to get the job done,” Mr. McCarthy said. “As the leader of the Judiciary Committee, Jim has passed more bills through the House in just three years than the entire Democrat leadership team has their collective 28 years in Congress.”

The former speaker characterized his potential successor as an honest and selfless leader who is willing to listen to members and constituents.

“Jim is the right person to take that seat behind me, to be our next speaker of the House,” Mr. McCarthy said.

“Trust me, being speaker is not an easy job, especially in this conference,” he added. “But I’ve seen Jim spend his entire career fighting for freedom no matter what, no matter the odds. And I know he’s ready for the job.”

Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) nominated Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), casting Mr. Jordan as a representative of “MAGA extremism.”  She echoed Mr. Jeffries’ call for  Republicans to form a coalition with Democrats to elect a speaker who would lead by consensus.

“It is not too late for the majority to choose a bipartisan path forward to re-open the house,” she said. “Take yes, for an answer.”

Difficult Campaign

Mr. Jordan won 200 Republican votes on a first ballot cast on Oct. 17. Twenty Republicans voted for a smattering of other candidates, including Mr. McCarthy and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who had won the nomination over Mr. Jordan a week prior.

A majority vote of 217 was required for election.

In a second ballot cast the next day, Mr. Jordan gained some GOP supporters and lost others. He garnered 199 Republican votes with 22 conference members voting for others.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) won all 212 Democratic votes on both ballots.

With support slipping, Mr. Jordan and other Republicans and others tried to convince fellow Republicans to temporarily empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) to conduct House business.

Mr. Jordan said this was an opportunity to “lower the temperature” surrounding the speakership race while allowing the House to reopen.

Many Republicans, eager to return to legislative business, supported the plan. But others adamantly opposed it during a tense four-hour Republican conference meeting on Oct. 19. A variety of reasons were offered, including the questionable constitutional footing of the plan, the undesirability of empowering a speaker who had been appointed rather than elected, and the fear that it would effectively cede control of the House to Democrats.

No action was taken, effectively killing the proposal.

Firm Opposition

Resistance to Mr. Jordan among Republicans had become increasingly entrenched after some holdouts complained of harassment by Jordan supporters by phone, email, and social media. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) reported receiving credible death threats. “One thing I cannot stomach or support is a bully,” she wrote on social media on Oct. 18.

While Mr. Jordan condemned the tactics, the damage appears to have been done as resistance hardened.

Other members, including Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) appeared to shy away from Mr. Jordan as a representative of the party’s farthest right wing. Mr. Lawler and 17 other Republicans represent moderate districts that President Joe Biden won in 2020.

Opposition was also fueled by the treatment of Mr. McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was ousted by a small faction of Republican members, and Mr. Scalise (R-La.), who withdrew his nomination for speaker after a handful of Jordan supporters said that they would not vote for Mr. Scalise on the House floor.

Though Mr. Jordan supported both Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Scalise, some believed that electing Mr. Jordan would reward those few who had defied the will of the Republican majority.

“We had folks who violated our conference rules multiple times. Otherwise, we'd still have Kevin McCarthy, or we have Steve Scalise as the speaker today,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said after refusing to vote for Mr. Jordan on the second ballot.

Jackson Richman, Joseph Lord, Emel Akan, Ryusuke Abe, and NTD’s Melina Wisecup contributed to this report.