Jim Jordan to face second vote for speakership after 20 Republicans sink first attempt - live - The Guardian US

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While Jim Jordan may not have enough votes to become House Speaker, another round of voting is expected today.

A spokesperson for Jordan confirmed to CNN’s Manu Raju that Jordan will force another round of votes.

“The House needs a speaker as soon as possible. Expect another round of votes today. It’s time for Republicans to come together,” said Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye.

Jim Jordan is finding support from Republicans for another round of voting on his bid to become House speaker – but not from his allies.

Florida’s Mario Diaz-Balart wants the chamber to reconvene and vote again. In the first round of voting earlier today, Diaz-Balart backed majority leader Steve Scalise for House speaker:

Jim Jordan is down, but he’s not out yet, and could yet become speaker of the House. From the Guardian’s Sam Levine, Joan E Greve and Lauren Gambino, here’s a rundown of what we know about the Ohio Republican and far-right fixture:

As the House gears up to vote for its new speaker, all eyes are on Jim Jordan, a founder of the hard-right Freedom caucus. But while the Ohio congressman and his allies say they will have the votes soon, Jordan also has a long history of controversial views that many of his own party members and constituents are not aligned with.

Here are some of the key things to know about Jordan as a politician – and a look into how he might act in the role of speaker.

Jordan was closely involved in Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the election

Jordan was a “significant player” in Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, according to the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. As early as November of 2020, he was part of discussions with Trump campaign and White House officials examining whether Mike Pence could overturn the election. Immediately after the election, he met with Trump campaign and White House officials at the campaign’s headquarters to help develop a strategy of repeatedly, and falsely, saying the election was fraudulent, the New York Times reported.

On 2 January 2021, Jordan led a conference call with members of Congress and the White House in which they discussed urging Trump supporters to march to the Capitol. The day before the January 6 attack, Jordan texted the then White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, to pass on advice that Pence should “call out all the electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all”.

After the violence at the Capitol, Jordan was one of several members of Congress to whom the White House reached out to try to delay counting of electoral votes. He received five calls from Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s closest allies, that night, according to the January 6 committee. The two men spoke at least twice that night. Jordan later said he spoke with Trump on January 6, but could not recall how many times.

While Jim Jordan may not have enough votes to become House Speaker, another round of voting is expected today.

A spokesperson for Jordan confirmed to CNN’s Manu Raju that Jordan will force another round of votes.

“The House needs a speaker as soon as possible. Expect another round of votes today. It’s time for Republicans to come together,” said Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye.

New York representative Anthony D’Esposito, who voted against Jordan, released a statement following the first round of votes.

In his statement, D’Esposito alluded to concerns that Jordan may not understand the concerns of his district.

“I want a Speaker who understands Long Island’s unique needs. Restoring the SALT deduction, safeguarding 9/11 victim support funding, and investing in critical infrastructure are our priorities,” said D’Esposito, who voted for former US representative Lee Zeldin.

“I look forward to discussions with candidates.”

The DNC released a statement chiding Republicans for failing, once again, to elect a House Speaker.

Calling Republicans the “Chaos Caucus”, DNC spokesperson Sarafina Chitika accused GOP members of making “a mockery of our institutions” and being “incapable of governing.”

“Serious times demand serious leadership, not the GOP’s MAGA clown show with Trump as its ringleader,” said Chitika, in part.

North Carolina representative Wiley Nickel issued a statement calling Jim Jordan a “problem starter” after Jordan failed to gain enough votes to become House speaker.

Nickel, a Democrat, emphasized that Jordan remains “Donald Trump’s biggest ally in spreading false claims about the 2020 election” in a statement released shortly after the failed first vote.

“I came to Congress because pro-democracy Republicans, Independents, and Democrats made their voices heard in my district,” Nickel said.

“My constituents want a House Speaker who can bring Congress together, find common ground, and get things done. During his 16-year tenure in Congress, Jim Jordan has done none of that.

Republicans held a floor vote to elect rightwing firebrand Jim Jordan as speaker of the House, and quickly ran into the same problem Kevin McCarthy did during his speakership election in January: the GOP is deeply divided and unable to agree on a leader. Jordan was unable to secure a majority after 20 Republicans voted for other candidates, and the Democrats offered him no support. The Ohio congressman has vowed the press on, much like McCarthy did earlier this year, but it’s unclear if Jordan has enough clout to sustain the 15 rounds of balloting it took McCarthy to secure his election as speaker. We’ll find out in the hours and days to come.

Here’s what else has happened today:

• Democrats plan to turn Jordan’s speakership, if he is actually elected, into a campaign issue, by highlighting his extreme positions and arguing there are no moderates in the House GOP.

• McCarthy was optimistic Jordan would be elected, perhaps even on the first round of votes. He has already turned out to be part wrong.

• Matt Gaetz, who orchestrated McCarthy’s removal, backed Jordan for speaker.

After announcing the final vote tally, Patrick McHenry, the acting speaker of the House, gaveled the chamber into recess.

Besides GOP nominee Jim Jordan and Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, McHenry listed the others who had received votes in the inconclusive election. These were:

• Republican Majority leader Steve Scalise, who received seven votes.

• Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy, who received six votes.

• Former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, who received three votes.

• California congressman Mike Garcia, who received one vote.

• Minnesota congressman Tom Emmer, who received one vote.

• Oklahoma congressman Tom Cole, who received one vote.

• Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie, who received one vote.

It’s a similar, perhaps worse, level of dissent to what McCarthy faced at the start of the year. In his speakership election’s first round of balloting, he received 203 votes, while Jeffries received 212 votes, and other candidates received 19 votes.

When Patrick McHenry read out the results – Jim Jordan 200, Hakeem Jeffries 212 – Republicans looked sombre and Democrats erupted in applause.

I can no longer see Jordan but Jeffries has a gathering of Democrats around him. Other members are departing and the public gallery is emptying.

Jim Jordan lost the first round of balloting for speaker of the House, after 20 Republican lawmakers turned against their party’s own nominee, while Democrats refused to support him.

The final tally was 200 in favor of Jordan, 212 for Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and 20 for others. This group includes Kevin McCarthy, the House speaker who was voted out two weeks ago, and Steve Scalise, the Republican majority leader who was briefly the party’s nominee for the post.

Jordan has said he is willing to go for further rounds of voting to determine who leads Congress’s lower chamber.

Jim Jordan is now chuckling wryly as dissenting votes stack up and the dream slips away, at least for now.

Democrats appear to be just fine with the spectacle of the Republican party pushing the self-destruct button again. Every now and then, former speaker Nancy Pelosi leans over and says something across the aisle to minority leader Hakeem Jeffries.

A couple of Democrats have used the word “insurrectionist” to describe Jordan, prompting Republican bellows of disapproval.

At one point, Kevin McCarthy and Jordan shared a joke and burst out laughing. McCarthy knows this feeling better than anyone.

Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries now has more votes for speaker than Jim Jordan, the GOP’s nominee.

Jeffries will not be made speaker, since Republicans still have a majority in the chamber. But in terms of optics, it’s bad for Jordan – and puts him on par with Kevin McCarthy, who was overtaken by Jeffries in support during the 14 unsuccessful votes before he was elected speaker on the 15th round of balloting in January.

And now there are 14 Republicans against Jim Jordan.

For what it’s worth, majority leader Steve Scalise just voted for him. Scalise was last week the GOP nominee for speaker, but withdrew in the face of opposition. As Punchbowl News reports, his team is bitter about the whole affair, but Scalise voted for Jordan nonetheless:

We’re now at 13 Republicans voting for someone besides Jim Jordan to serve as House speaker.

This guarantees two things: Jordan will need to hold a second election if he wants to win, and he will have a lot of convincing to do to get the holdouts to flip their votes.

It’s also worth mentioning many of Jordan’s Republican opponents represent swing districts, and their opposition may be a sign that they believe Jordan’s embrace of various extreme positions, including Donald Trump’s baseless fraud claims concerning the 2020 election, will not play well with voters back home.

As the voting got under way, Jim Jordan was smiling but looking nervous and fidgeting with his hands, knowing his hopes of becoming the third-highest ranking elected official in America are poised on a knife edge.

When Republicans Don Bacon and Lori Chavez-DeRemer each called out “McCarthy!” there was an excited murmur in the chamber. Former speaker Kevin McCarthy remained stone-faced in the row behind Jordan.

Elise Stefanik has her head in one hand and a pen in the other as she keeps a tally of the votes.

Nine Republicans have now voted against Jim Jordan.

More lawmakers have voted for Steve Scalise, the majority leader who last week briefly had the GOP nomination for speaker, before dropping out when he concluded he could not win a floor vote. Others have voted for former House speaker Kevin McCarthy, or former New York congressman Lee Zeldin.

All Democrats polled thus far have voted for minority leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Jim Jordan now has four Republican votes against him, putting him on track to lose the first election for House speaker.

New York’s Anthony D’Esposito voted for the former congressman Lee Zeldin, while Mario Díaz-Balart of Florida voted for the GOP majority leader, Steve Scalise, who briefly was the party’s nominee for speaker last week.

Jordan has vowed to hold the vote again, though it’s unclear when that will happen.

The Oregon Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer also voted for Kevin McCarthy.

Her district is among those that voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election but is represented by a Republican.

Jim Jordan can only afford to lose three GOP votes. Earlier, Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican who said he would not back Jordan, did not respond when his name was called.

Every other Republican called has voted for Jordan, while the Democrats have voted for Hakeem Jeffries.

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