House Republicans Remove Jim Jordan as Nominee for Speaker
Washington — In a surprising turn of events, House Republicans have voted to drop Rep. Jim Jordan as their nominee for speaker after he failed to secure a majority vote three times this week. The decision has left the party scrambling for a new candidate, leaving the House leaderless for at least three more days.
The closed-door meeting held by the House Republican Conference on Friday afternoon saw members cast their votes by secret ballot on whether Jordan should continue as the nominee. According to lawmakers present in the room, 86 members voted in favor of Jordan, while 112 voted against him.
Following the meeting, Jordan expressed his thoughts, “I thought it was important that we all know [and] get an answer to the question if they wanted me to continue in that role. So we put the question to them. They made a different decision.”
This decision to remove Jordan as the nominee came after an earlier vote on the House floor indicated a steady decline in his support. Jordan received 194 votes in this round, compared to 200 in the first round on Tuesday and 199 in the second on Wednesday. The number of Republicans voting for alternative protest candidates, rather than Jordan, also increased over the three rounds, reaching 25 on Friday.
With Jordan no longer in the running, Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry has taken charge of guiding the House through the increasingly tumultuous process of finding a permanent speaker. McHenry announced that another forum for candidates will be held on Monday, with the aim of holding a vote on the floor on Tuesday morning.
“It is my goal to be talking to you at this time next Friday as chairman of the Financial Services Committee,” McHenry stated, emphasizing his aspirations to assume the role of speaker.
The race for the speaker’s position continues as House Republicans regroup and search for a new nominee to lead them. With the next vote quickly approaching, the outcome remains uncertain, leaving the House in a state of uncertainty and anticipation.