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Rep. Jim Jordan, the hardline ultraconservative from Ohio, lost his bid to be elected speaker on Tuesday and postponed a second vote until Wednesday, prolonging a two-week fight that paralyzed the chamber and exposed deep divisions in the Republican Party.
Jordan, the combative co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus and a close ally of former President Donald J. Trump, fell 17 votes short of the majority he would have needed to prevail, while a determined bloc of traditional Republicans opposed him. .
Jordan had initially tried to force a second vote Tuesday night, but, fighting in the face of unwavering opposition, called a recess for the night and planned to hold a vote Wednesday at 11 a.m.
“We’re going to keep working and we’re going to get to the votes,” Jordan said.
The group of 20 holdout Republicans was larger than previously known and included some influential members of the House. They included the chairwoman and several members of the powerful Appropriations Committee, as well as a half-dozen Republicans from politically competitive districts won by President Biden.
Jordan’s loss underscored the seemingly intractable differences within the party, as well as the nearly impossible political math that led to Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as president two weeks ago and that has so far thwarted Republicans’ attempts to choose a successor.
With Republicans controlling the House with just four votes to spare, a small far-right minority has repeatedly flexed its muscles to the dismay of traditional conservatives who make up the majority of the conference. The refusal of some of them to support Jordan’s election was an unusual show of force by a group that more commonly seeks compromise and conciliation.
But Tuesday’s vote also indicated how sharply the Republican Party has veered to the right. Although Jordan failed to win a majority, 200 Republicans, including many of the more traditional members, voted to give him the position of second in line for the presidency. That was a notable show of support for Jordan, 59, who helped Trump try to overturn the 2020 election and has used his power in Congress to defend the former president. Jordan has a long history of opposing compromises that led a previous Republican president to label him a “legislative terrorist.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., formally nominated Jordan, a former wrestling champion, on the court Tuesday, calling his hard-hitting style a virtue. “Whether on the wrestling mat or in the committee room, Jim Jordan is strategic, feisty, tough and principled,” she said.
Before his defeat, Jordan said he was willing to force multiple rounds of voting – “whatever it took” – to win the presidency, and with his opponents’ names now on the record, right-wing activists bombarded them with calls.
“The calls that are coming in are ridiculous,” said Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, who voted against Jordan in part because Jordan has refused to say that President Biden won the 2020 election. “It’s hundreds, if not thousands , those that are arriving at all offices at this moment.
Many of the Republicans who voted against Jordan vowed to stand firm in the face of pressure, citing a variety of concerns. Some members of the Appropriations Committee, which drafts government spending bills, are deeply distrustful of Jordan’s approach to spending and the types of cuts he has supported. Others were Republicans from swing districts where Trump’s brand is toxic. Others remained bitter about the way Jordan’s allies ousted McCarthy from the presidency and then refused to fall in line behind Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the party’s No. 2, when he initially won an intraparty election for candidate La. last week. .
“I will not be pressured or intimidated,” promised Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, a member of the Appropriations Committee and one of those opposed to Jordan, who voted for Scalise. And he added: “I voted for the guy who won the election.”
Scalise “won the conference vote outright against Jim Jordan,” said Rep. John Rutherford of Florida, another appropriator who said he intended to continue voting against Jordan. “I think now we’re going to have to find a consensus candidate.”
The chaos in the House has sparked renewed discussion about whether to empower Rep. Patrick T. McHenry of North Carolina – the pro tem speaker whose role is primarily to hold an election for a president – to carry out the work of the chamber until that the conflict can be resolved. Lawmakers are increasingly concerned about the impact of continuing to operate without an elected president, including that Congress may not be able to act to support Israel as it wages war against Hamas.
On Tuesday, Democrats united to vote for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader. Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the No. 3 Democrat, nominated Jeffries with a blistering speech against Jordan. He accused the Ohio Republican of “inciting violence in this chamber,” a reference to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, remarkably sharp language about another lawmaker rarely heard in the House of Representatives and almost never during a nomination speech for president. .
Aguilar laid out a clear case against Jordan, calling him the “architect of a nationwide abortion ban, a vocal election denier, and an inciter of insurrection.” He summarized the political argument Democrats are willing to make against Republicans for embracing Jordan, after a display of disarray that some in the GOP were already worried would cost them their House majority.
Amid the chaos, at least one Republican said he was heading toward the exit. Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona, a member of the Freedom Caucus, said in a statement announcing her retirement from the House that “right now, Washington is broken; It is difficult to do something.”
At a Capitol news conference Tuesday night, Jeffries called on Republicans to put forward a different candidate.
“There are many good men and women on the Republican side of the aisle who are qualified to be speakers of the House of Representatives,” Jeffries said. “There is no circumstance in which Jim Jordan is one of them.”
Tuesday’s vote only fueled the bitter infighting plaguing Republican ranks. The bad blood between Jordan and Scalise’s camps was particularly evident.
After his loss, Jordan met privately with Scalise to ask for help shoring up votes, but received no promises to do so, according to a person familiar with the conversation. Scalise’s spokeswoman denied that she had refused to help Jordan, but Scalise supporters remain angry at the way Jordan’s supporters refused to back the Louisianan.
Immediately after losing in the House of Representatives, Jordan held a series of meetings with holdouts and found himself in a deeply uncomfortable situation. For a lawmaker whose focus has been on demanding ideological purity from his party leaders, Jordan now finds himself needing to negotiate with some of the same establishment Republicans his supporters consider a corrupt “cartel,” as they sometimes refer to them. elected leaders in Washington. .
Mr. Jordan is not known as a skilled legislator or negotiator; In 16 years in Congress, he has not sponsored a single bill that has become law.
Four of Jordan’s critics were from the New York delegation, which helped Republicans win the House majority last year.
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito of New York issued a public statement laying out a series of demands, including reworking the state and local tax deductions, known as SALT, one of the delegation’s top priorities.
“I want a speaker who understands the unique needs of Long Island,” D’Esposito wrote. “Our priorities are to restore the SALT deduction, safeguard 9/11 victim support funds, and invest in critical infrastructure.”
The report was contributed by Catie Edmondson, Annie Karni, Carl Hulse, Kayla Guo and Robert Jimison.