As we reported earlier, Jim Jordan was in a precarious position heading into today's second ballot for Speaker of the House. He garnered only 200 votes on yesterday's first ballot, leaving him well short of the 217 needed to take ownership of the speaker's gavel.
Many of his GOP colleagues in the House were adamant that they wouldn't support him on the second ballot, and that's exactly what happened. Jordan actually netted one less vote today, ending with a total of 199 votes going to him, with the remaining votes going to a smattering of other Republicans.
Someone even voted for John Boehner.
The bad news for Jordan: He lost the support of Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Drew Ferguson (R-GA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), and Pete Stauber (R-MN).
The tiny bit of good news for Jordan: He won the votes of Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN), who had previously indicated she would vote present at today's vote or suggest another candidate, and Rep. Doug LaMalfa R-NY), who voted for Kevin McCarthy on the first ballot. Jordan also picked up the vote of Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), who missed yesterday's vote.
Jordan has indicated that he's willing to go as many rounds of voting as it takes to win. His spokesperson confirms that he'll be on the third ballot.
Sounds like Jordan is hanging in for a potential third round:
— Jordain Carney (@jordainc) October 18, 2023
“We’re going to keep going.” -Russell Dye, Jordan Spox
It looks like an uphill battle for Jordan, with some of the GOP holdouts going as far as to say there's nothing he can do to win their votes:
Jordan holdout @rep_stevewomack says opposition is dug in on principle, doesn’t want anything from him. In other words, nothing for Jordan to negotiate @agripulse
— Philip Brasher (@PhilipBrasher) October 18, 2023
Jordan's lack of success on the second ballot could bolster the push to have Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry take on additional responsibilities to oversee the passage of legislation, especially bills related to government funding and the tensions in the Middle East.
It's unclear when the third vote will take place, but some of Jordan's fellow Republicans are warning that things are going to get worse for him.
You can see a list of Republicans who didn't vote for Jordan here.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member