Oct. 17 (UPI) — In the first round of voting on the U.S. House floor Tuesday, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan did not have enough votes needed to secure the speakership.
Despite losing a closed-door vote to Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., last week, Jordan finds himself the front-runner for the speakership. Scalise stepped out of the race Thursday after failing to garner enough support from his Republican colleagues.
Jordan’s bid for the role has gained traction in the days since as he has made the rounds with his colleagues, but 20 Republicans still voted against him, leaving Jordan shy of the 217 votes needed to be elected.
All 212 House Democrats voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who was nominated by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.
Ken Buck, R-Colo., did not vote. He was the first Republican who was present but did not vote for Jordan. He has been critical of Jordan for refusing to accept President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election.
Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., Lor Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., Mario Diaz Balart, R-Fla., and Jake Ellzey, R-Texas, were among the Republicans who voted for other candidates. Others who received votes included Reps. Scalise, Mike Garcia, R-Calif., and Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. McCarthy and Scalise voted for Jordan.
The House recessed at about 2 p.m. EDT after failing to elect a speaker.
At least one Republican, Florida Rep. Gus Bilirakis, was not present for the vote as he attended the funeral of his mother-in-law. With his absence, Jordan could only afford three Republican votes against him. House Democrats have indicated they will not vote in favor of confirming a Republican speaker.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., nominated Jordan following a roll call vote that confirmed just one absence for Republicans. All 212 Democrats are present.
“We are at a time of great crisis across America. A time when heinous acts have been committed against our great ally Israel,” Stefanik said.
While touting Jordan, Stefanik repeated an unfounded claim about babies being killed by Hamas. The Israeli government said it cannot confirm these claims either.
Aguilar called on the House to “abandon the extremism,” when he nominated Jeffries, for speaker. He called Jordan an “election denier” and said it would send a bad message to allies that a person who tried to undermine the government would be “rewarded.”
“Even leaders in his own party have called him a legislative terrorist,” Aguilar said. “This is nothing less than a rejection of the oath that we swore to uphold when we were elected to this body. Only Hakeem Jeffries can lead us out of the chaos and towards a path of governance.”
When Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., announced his vote for Jeffries he shouted “No to the insurrectionist.” Some Republicans on the floor responded with boos.
In a statement Monday, Jordan said he means to “bring all Republicans together.” House Republicans have been embroiled in division, culminating in the unprecedented vacation of the speakership in a tumultuous vote to unseat McCarthy.
“Our goal will be to empower our committees and committee chairs to take the lead on the House’s legislative work through regular order,” Jordan wrote. “This will bring us together to pass responsible legislation to fund our government and support our military.”
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., is among the Republicans who have most recently thrown their support behind Jordan. He cited conversations with Jordan over the weekend that convinced him of Jordan’s support of the National Defense Authorization Act and the Farm Bill.
In Jordan’s more than 15 years in Congress, he has notably never voted in favor of a Farm Bill. The last Farm Bill passed in 2018 and is set to expire this year. He has also voted against aid for Ukraine.
The House undertook 15 rounds of voting in January to elect McCarthy as speaker in a process that spanned multiple days.
Lawmakers face a Nov. 17 deadline to further avoid a government shutdown.
