Twenty Republicans voted with Democrats to tank Jordan's bid for the gavel
GOP rep. predicts who will be next House speaker
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, vouches for Rep. Jim Jordan to be the next speaker of the House ahead of the vote.
Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, lost the first round vote to be House speaker on Tuesday after 20 Republicans joined all Democrats to shoot him down.
Seven Republicans voted for Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who was the previous speaker-designate before being forced to withdraw due to mounting opposition. Six GOP lawmakers voted for ousted ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and three moderate New York Republicans voted for former GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin.
Additional votes were cast for House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
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Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is running for House Speaker (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
But it may not be the end of Jordan's bid for the gavel. His allies have signaled that the GOP bomb-thrower is willing to go through multiple rounds of votes to get a majority.
"It might take a few votes, it might not be done on the first on the first ballot, but I think he's okay with that," one GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital after a closed-door House Republican meeting on Monday night.
Jordan was selected to be the House GOP’s candidate for speaker in an anonymous vote last week, but it became immediately clear that it would be an uphill battle to win the support of moderates and other wary establishment Republicans.
Several Republicans who objected to his speakership voted for either ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., or Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.
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The latter had been Republicans’ original speaker-designate after McCarthy’s ouster two weeks ago. But opposition, primarily from Jordan allies who insisted they would vote for the Ohio Republican no matter what, forced him to drop out just a day later.
Ex-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was ousted from power two weeks ago. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Jordan would not answer when asked how many rounds of voting he was willing to hold.
"We need to get a speaker as soon as possible," he said instead.
Elizabeth Elkind is a reporter for Fox News Digital focused on Congress as well as the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and politics. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
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