WASHINGTON — For a second time in two days, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, fell short of the 217 votes needed to be elected speaker, another serious blow to the Donald Trump-backed candidate's chances of seizing the prized gavel.
Jordan, the GOP's latest nominee for speaker, received 199 votes; that was one net vote fewer than he received on Tuesday and a sign that Jordan is bleeding support rather than winning over his detractors. Compared to the first ballot, he lost four votes, flipped two in his favor and added one who was initially absent.
The backward movement indicates that Jordan's hopes of securing the job are in peril, prolonging an unprecedented stretch of chaos for the Republican-controlled House, which has no clear path to electing a new leader.
Many lawmakers are eager to get to work on government funding legislation ahead of a Nov. 17 deadline to avert a shutdown, but the chamber cannot conduct business until it elects a new leader. Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., a Jordan backer who represents a swing district, said the dynamics needed to change and proposed fractured Republicans hold a retreat outside of the Beltway, far from lobbyists and the glare of the media.
"It sounds silly but let's go to Gettysburg or something. Let's go to somewhere that is meaningful to our nation's history so that the Republican party can once again remember why we do what we do," Garcia said after the vote.
Somewhere "to remind us of why we fight these fights and why we are actually in this job. And that's to make sure that the country endured and that we get stronger and not weaker."
Even as Jordan vowed to stay in the fight with further ballots until he's elected speaker, the vote tally raised new questions about whether the powerful Judiciary Committee chairman might bow out of the race and other speaker hopefuls might jump in.
The four members who voted for Jordan initially but flipped on the second ballot Wednesday were Reps. Vern Buchanan of Florida, Drew Ferguson of Georgia, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, and Pete Stauber of Minnesota. The two who flipped in Jordan's favor were Reps. Doug LaMalfa of California and Victoria Spartz of Indiana. He added one vote, Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., who was absent Tuesday.
Wednesday is the 15th day the House has been without a speaker. Lawmakers are growing increasingly worried about not being able to supply Ukraine and Israel with fresh aid packages amid their wars, and a new government shutdown threat is now less than a month away.
Jordan's defectors on both ballots include swing-district members, like Reps. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., as well as senior lawmakers on the powerful Appropriations Committee, including Chair Kay Granger, R-Texas, and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., nominated Jordan on Wednesday and mentioned his opposition to removing former Speaker Kevin McCarthy two weeks ago.
“The last two weeks have vindicated that observation. But we have a chance today to end that chaos, end that uncertainty,” he said, stressing that Jordan has a “spine” in “great abundance.”
The turmoil and uncertainty has sparked growing chatter about a fallback solution: empowering Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. the acting speaker, to temporarily conduct business for the House.
The idea has been pushed for days by Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, who leaving the floor Wednesday said he had "20 versions" of the resolution. His colleague, Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who voted against Jordan on Tuesday, introduced a resolution to give McHenry powers for one month, which would dissolve if a speaker is elected by then.
Kelly said that if McHenry is elevated, "the House will be able to hold votes necessary to fund the government" ahead of a Nov. 17 deadline to prevent a shutdown.
That idea may win some Democratic support. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., opened the door as he entered the chamber.
“We’ll have to review it, but all options are on the table to end the Republican civil war,” Jeffries said. “We’ve been saying from the very beginning, that we want a bipartisan path forward. That does not involve Jim Jordan, who is a poster child for Republican extremism and a danger to our democracy."
McHenry wouldn't engage Tuesday with questions on whether he'd support an enhancement of his power.
Nominating Jeffries again on Wednesday, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., quipped that he would shorten his speeches if the House could reach a compromise, but that he wasn't optimistic it'd happen.
He noted that a day earlier, Jeffries got 212 votes and Jordan got 200.
"No amount of election denying is going to take away from those vote totals," Aguilar said. "The country can’t afford more delays and more chaos. Fifteen days should be enough."
