House speaker vote live: House still without speaker as Rep. Jim Jordan loses second-round vote, floor expected to vote again
WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Jordan is expected to soon tell his GOP colleagues that he won’t hold a third vote for the role of speaker and instead will throw his weight behind expanding powers for the Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, sources tell ABC News.
House Republicans are expected to meet behind closed doors in the Capitol basement at 11 a.m. Thursday to discuss the speaker race situation ahead of a possible floor vote later in the day.
A vote could take place on the floor as early at noon, but the exact timing — and details of the vote — haven’t been set.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, center, confers with colleagues after he lost the second round of balloting for House speaker, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Jordan lost the second round of votes Wednesday when 22 Republicans voted against him — two more votes against him than Tuesday’s first-round vote.
Jordan, a conservative firebrand, staunch Donald Trump loyalist and founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, received his party’s nomination last week after House Majority Leader Steve Scalise bowed out of the race.
FILE – Then-President Donald Trump, right, encourages Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, left, to speak during a rally, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018, in Lewis Center, Ohio.
(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Jordan received one fewer vote in the second round than he did on Tuesday, receiving 199 votes.
Jordan picked up three members, but lost four others.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, bottom second from left, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., second row left, during the second-ballot speaker vote at the Capitol in Washington, Oct. 18, 2023.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The 22 Republicans who voted against Jordan make up a group of centrists and institutionalists who show no signs of budging anytime soon.
Seven Republicans voted for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who initially won the party’s nomination for speaker but bowed out of the race last week. They were: Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Drew Ferguson of Georgia, Tony Gonzales of Texas, Kay Granger of Texas, John Rutherford of Florida, Mike Simpson of Idaho and Steve Womack of Arkansas.
Five voted for McCarthy: Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Lori Chavez DeRemer of Oregon, Carlos Gimenez of Florida, Jennifer Kiggans of Virginia and Mike Lawler of New York.
Other Republicans who voted for someone else include Reps Vern Buchanan of Florida, Ken Buck of Ohio, Jake Ellzey of Kansas, Mary Miller-Meeks of Iowa, John James of Michigan, Mike Kelley of Pennsylvania and Pete Stauber of Minnesota.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, speaks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The group of detractors cited an array of reasons for voting against Jordan, including refusing to reward the lawmakers who voted to oust McCarthy, bristling against the pressure campaign from Jordan’s allies and rising worries over Jordan’s ideological rigidity, including his support for efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
“It made us mad, and it backfires,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said Wednesday on Newsmax of the pressure campaign. “Some of the younger folks, maybe that works. But someone like me … you win us over with an argument that makes sense. You’re going to have to convince us. And threatening us does not work.”
Sources tell ABC News that Jordan has also pushed for a vote on a resolution empowering Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, but it’s unclear if the GOP leadership team will agree to put that on the floor while Jordan is still an active candidate for speaker, and while other Republicans may be waiting in the wings to make a play for the gavel if he exits the race.