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It's a warning sign of trouble ahead if the GOP decides to hold another conference meeting before the vote. Once again Monday night, that meeting became acrimonious as members shared their grievances. The range of "no" Jordan votes could range from 5 or 6 to approximately 20.
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Trump awarded Jordan the Presidential Medal of Freedom less than a week after the riot at the Capitol. Jordan’s rise to power in the Republican ranks has not always been as smooth. He is known for being hard-charging and quick-talking as he moves through the halls of Congress, often in shirtsleeves. His positions on issues have earned him criticism, even from members of his own party, with former House speaker and fellow Republican and Ohioan John Boehner notably calling Jordan a “legislative terrorist” in a 2017 interview with Politico Magazine. In addition to his opposition to the ACA, Jordan cosponsored legislation in 2015 to ban same-sex marriage, opposed vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is opposed to abortion. While all Democrats voted in favor of aid to Ukraine and all but Ms. Tlaib supported funding to Taiwan, 37 left-leaning Democrats defected to vote against the Israel aid bill.
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Jeffries has said there have been “informal talks” with Republicans, but Democrats have been quiet about any negotiations. A pre-condition for any Democratic support for a speaker appears to be that they would allow any bipartisan bills come up for a vote. “He missed his moment of leadership when he failed Steve Scalise,” John Rutherford, a Florida congressman who voted against Jordan, said earlier this week.
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Still, 37 “no” votes, while a break from Washington’s ironclad support for the Jewish state, fell short of the opposition bloc progressives had hoped to muster. Thirty-nine Democrats had voted “no” on Friday on the rule to allow the foreign aid package to come to the House floor, a target that progressives just missed on Saturday on the Israel bill. Fourteen of those Democrats voted on Saturday in favor of aid to Israel, while 12 Democrats who voted to allow the package on the floor on Friday then cast votes against the funding itself. Republicans have proven unable to secure a simple majority to elect a speaker who can call floor votes on critical legislation, including bills to respond to the conflicts engulfing Israel and Ukraine and to avert a government shutdown by mid-November. Conservative hardliners nominated Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on Tuesday to be speaker of the House during the chamber’s second and third votes amid the floor fight for House leadership. Jordan has been a longtime ally of Trump, who endorsed him for speaker, and he was involved in Trump's efforts to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan ended his bid to lead the lower chamber Friday after facing stiff opposition from moderates and other lawmakers in key districts. One key House GOP member who declines repeatedly to say how he'll vote is Rep. David Valadao, of California, whose district is close to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's and is one of only two remaining House GOP members who voted to impeach Trump. Pressed on his position on who won the 2020 presidential election, Jordan replied that he's "been very clear about that" and declined to respond when asked if Trump lost the election. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, chair of the Republican conference, will deliver the nominating speech for Jordan, she announced on social media. The final tally for Jordan was 200 votes, leaving him shy of the 217 needed for a majority. Six of those voted for McCarthy and seven for Majority Leader Steve Scalise — who withdrew his name from consideration last week.
Congressman Jim Jordan Gaining Republican Support for House Speaker - Voice of America - VOA News
Congressman Jim Jordan Gaining Republican Support for House Speaker.
Posted: Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
"I want a conservative Republican to be speaker," he said, and he denied he would ever support Jeffries for the post. Of the approach taken by Jordan's outside supporters, Gimenez said, "What you've done now, you've cemented my position … I am not going to be voting for Jim Jordan to be speaker of the House." Rep. Carlos Gimenez, Republican of Florida, says he'll stick with ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for any upcoming floor votes for House speaker. "Frankly, no one in our conference wants to see any type of coalition government with Democrats, so we're going to keep working and we're going to get to the votes," Jordan said. Emerging from House Majority Whip Tom Emmer's office Tuesday evening, Jordan told reporters that he has had "great discussions" with his Republican colleagues and vowed to continue to pursue the speaker's gavel.
Jim Jordan loses second vote for House speaker, but vows to try again
Six Republicans voted for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted on Oct. 3. Several others voted for Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who withdrew his name from consideration last week, and former Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Trump ally who didn't run for reelection in 2022 when he ran for governor in New York. Instead of a one-off, Jan. 6 might just be a bad taste of things to come, with the peaceful transfer of power — the foundation of our election system and an exemplar to the world — becoming just another artifact of a political time gone by. The House of Representatives declined again on Wednesday to elect the hard-line Ohio Republican to replace Kevin McCarthy as speaker. GOP Rep. Byron Donalds, who has supported Rep. Kevin McCarthy in his bid for House speaker in the last two ballots, says he is now open to a nominee who can close the deal.
"We are at a time of great crisis across America, a time of historic challenges in this very chamber and a time when heinous acts of terror and evil have been committed against our great ally, Israel," the New York Republican said. Rep. Elise Stefanik, the Republican conference chair, delivered the nominating speech for Jordan, characterizing the Ohio Republican as the candidate who is best suited to respond to the current moment. GOP Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida sent a letter to interim Speaker Patrick McHenry calling for the House to reconvene immediately and start voting on the second ballot. "We need to choose the right speaker," Gimenez said, adding that the process "doesn't need to be done quickly," as long as McHenry's power could be expanded for now.
Jordan is spending the final hours before the speaker vote on the phone with and meeting with members who have not yet expressed their support for him, according to a source familiar with Jordan's schedule. The House began meeting shortly after noon ET, although that doesn't mean the speaker vote will take place immediately. Jordan, emerging from the speaker's suite, was asked how many rounds of voting he would be willing to endure. Democrats are urged to vote for Jeffries, the minority leader, according to a notice from the Democratic whip, Rep. Katherine Clark. There are 220 Republicans and 212 Democrats present for the House speaker vote, according to a quorum call of the House, during which members recorded their presence on the floor.
The Republican Congress member who switched from voting from McCarthy to Jordan on the third ballot, Florida’s Byron Donalds, posted a statement on Twitter that said he’d only committed to voting for McCarthy twice. He said that no Congress member currently has the 218 votes needed to secure the job. The drive for Jordan came after McCarthy failed to win the 218 votes needed to get the job on the first ballot.
GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy failed to lock down the votes needed for speaker again as the House concluded voting for a second round. The final vote was 212 votes for Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, 203 votes for McCarthy and 19 votes for GOP Rep. Jim Jordan. Nineteen GOP lawmakers who voted against Rep. Kevin McCarthy for House speaker in the first round voted for Rep. Jim Jordan in the second round. Lawmakers are poised to cast their votes for the third time after House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy failed to secure enough votes twice. Republican Rep. Chip Roy, who has twice voted against Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday, nominated GOP Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida nominated Jordan in the second round where he earned 19 votes.
Some Scalise allies think Jordan didn’t do enough to rally Republicans around Scalise. After the third failed vote, Republicans took a vote by secret ballot on whether Jordan should remain the nominee. He lost that vote handily, losing his status as the Republican nominee for speaker.
Jordan co-founded the right-wing House Freedom Caucus and served as its first chairman. The Ohio Republican acknowledged "frustrations" from his fellow GOP lawmakers about the treatment of McCarthy and Scalise, as well as the events that took place over the past month, and said that conference "must move forward." Several Republicans who opposed Jordan's bid for speaker announced Monday that they had switched their positions after discussions with the Ohio Republican. Right-wing outside organizations and allies close to former President Donald Trump have mounted a campaign to increase the pressure on Republicans who have withheld their support for his candidacy.
"Throughout my time in Congress, I have always been a team player and supported our Republican nominees out of conference." He declined to say how many rounds of voting he's willing to go (former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy endured 15 rounds before winning the speakership). He denied threatening to primary lawmakers who don't support him, although some alluded to that Monday night after the GOP conference meeting. Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye said lawmakers should be prepared for another round of votes for House speaker after the Ohio Republican fell short of the 217 he needs to win the speakership. Jordan lost the support of 20 of his fellow Republicans in Tuesday's election, winning just 200 votes and falling short of the 217 needed to prevail. Democrats nominated Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who received 212 votes.
Rep.-elect Mike Lawler, a McCarthy supporter, pushed back and said that they would stick by McCarthy, even if it went to 50 ballots. “We’ll keep voting, and if they want to say ‘We’re not giving in,’ well guess what, neither are we. But Jordan, to show that he is not vying for the job, nominated McCarthy ahead of the vote on the second ballot. According to the report, Jordan spoke to Trump by phone "at least twice" on Jan. 6, but it said he has provided inconsistent statements about the number of times they spoke that day and what they discussed.
They said before the vote that they opposed unfettered aid to Israel that could be used in its offensive in Gaza. The opposition to the Israel aid represented a minority of Democrats, but reflected the deep resistance to unconditional aid and the divisions in the party on Gaza. Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland represented a notable new “no” vote among Democrats, and other standouts included Representatives Donald S. Beyer Jr. of Virginia, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and John Garamendi of California. Now, as the House seeks a new speaker, the 118th is the first ever Congress to need two speaker elections with multiple ballots. Rep. Jim Jordan, who on Friday lost his third round of voting and later lost in a secret ballot, is no longer a nominee.
