Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan loses in second round of voting for House speaker

Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·3 min read
9
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is seen on the House floor Oct. 18, 2023, as lawmakers hold a second vote to elect a new speaker in Washington.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is seen on the House floor Oct. 18, 2023, as lawmakers hold a second vote to elect a new speaker in Washington.
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Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan has again come up short in his bid to be House speaker on Wednesday.

The final vote was 212 for Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and 199 for Jordan, with others voting for alternatives.

The Urbana Republican lost 22 Republican votes, two more than in the first round and 18 more than he could afford to lose. It was not immediately clear what the next steps would be.

The conference is debating whether to put a resolution on the floor that would give the temporary speaker more power or adjourn to discuss a path forward in a closed-door conference.

- Associated Press

Ohio's Joyce pushing effort to give speaker pro tempore more power

Jordan's second bid for House speaker hit another snag as fellow Ohio U.S. Rep Dave Joyce intends to file a motion Wednesday seeking to elect U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry as permanent speaker pro tempore.

"By empowering Patrick McHenry as Speaker Pro Tempore we can take care of our ally Israel until a new Speaker is elected," Joyce, R-South Russell, said in a statement to USA TODAY.

Joyce, chair of the Republican Governance Group, a caucus of moderate Republicans, will be a crucial House Republican to keep an eye on ahead of the second speaker ballot.

The news came Wednesday morning, a day after Jordan lost the speakership during the first round of voting, and ahead of a second round of voting Wednesday. Jordan lost support of 20 fellow Republicans during Tuesday's voting.

Jordan says the House should vote on the resolution that would give the speaker pro tempore more power if they can’t agree on a permanent speaker.

Jordan made the comment just minutes before the House was gaveled into session for a second round of voting for speaker Wednesday. Jordan says, “Let's get an answer." He says the country deserves to have a functioning government.

Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., presides over the House of Representatives as House lawmakers vote to elect a new speaker in Washington on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. House Republicans nominated the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to the speakership last week. Jordan's chances of earning 217 votes, the number needed to become speaker, are unclear.

Former House Speaker and Ohio Rep. John Boehner joined former House Speaker Newt Gingrich late Tuesday in suggesting that installing McHenry as speaker pro tempore was a better alternative to "gridlock and chaos." Boehner retweeted a news story quoting Gingrich by saying, "I agree."

GOP voters turning on House Republicans, poll shows

One reason some Republican lawmakers might be open to a bipartisan speaker is that their own voters are getting fed up. Asked if Republicans, in general, “have the right priorities” a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll found 54% of their own party agreed.

That’s a solid majority, for sure.

But the survey shows a troubling trend too, mainly that 36% of registered GOP voters think Republicans, "aren't paying enough attention to America's real problems."

That well outpaces the 22% of registered Democrats who said the same about their party amid this gridlock. Another 67% of Democrats said their party has the right priorities.

– Phillip M. Bailey

This story will update.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jim Jordan loses in second round of voting for House speaker