Republicans’ second choice for Speaker fails at first pass

Jim Jordan was confident he could prevail in a second vote for House Speaker after 20 GOP congressman voted against him, scheduled for Wednesday (Thursday AEDT).

Jim Jordan, centre, awaits the verdict of fellow Republicans on the floor of the house on Tuesday. Picture: AFP

Republicans’ second choice for Speaker, Jim Jordan, failed to garner enough votes on the floor of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT), leaving US congress in paralysis for the third week in a row as demands on the critical chamber mount.

A hardline Republican who has boosted his profile by prosecuting allegations that President Joe Biden and his family were corrupt, veteran Ohio congressman Mr Jordan said he would seek a further vote in the House on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) to try to succeed former speaker Kevin McCarthy.

“We must stop attacking each other and come together. There’s too much at stake. Let’s get back to working on the crisis at the southern border, inflation, and helping Israel,” Mr Jordan, 59, said on social media after he lost the first round of voting on the House floor. “We need to get a speaker as soon as possible,” he told reporters before a second round of voting was scheduled for 11am on Wednesday.

Mr Jordan’s tally of 200 votes was three fewer than McCarthy, whom a small group of Republican ousted last week in an historic move, had achieved on his first of 15 tries to win the speakership in January, and 10 fewer than his total in the vote that ousted him.

Republicans hold 221 seats in the House of Representatives, Democrats 212, implying a successful Speaker needs at least 217 votes to secure the powerful position.

Judiciary committee chairman Mr Jordan, who is backed by scandal-engulfed former president Donald Trump, was defeated by 20 Republicans who joined every Democrat to deny him the gavel.

Steve Scalise, the House GOP’s first choice to succeed Mr McCarthy, dropped out of the race last week, surmising that he couldn’t attract 217 votes to secure a majority in the House of Representatives.

Republican congressman Scott Perry, chairman of House Freedom Caucus which Mr Jordan helped launch, said he was “pretty confident” the Ohio congressman could secure the gavel.

“I feel like Jim Jordan is an NCAA champion wrestler who’s wrestled a lot of rounds,” Mr Perry told reporters, in a nod to Jordan’s college sporting achievements.

A win by Mr Jordan would mark an earthshaking victory by the populist wing of the GOP over more establishment figures, moving one of the chamber’s most storied rabble rousers, known for blocking rather than passing legislation, to the top leadership role in the House. It also would raise new questions about the ability of Republicans to work with Democrats to pass critical bills in coming months.

Jordan, co-founder of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus that often has fought with party leaders, was in close contact with Trump during the former president’s efforts to delay the count of the 2020 election.

Some Republicans are wary of what they see as Jordan’s scorched earth approach to politics, while a handful have bristled over the intense pressure tactics of his backers, who reportedly sought to persuade the holdouts to back Mr Jordan or endure further humiliation of the Republican party.

Whoever gets the job will be under immediate pressure to lead support for Israel in its war with Hamas, renew US aid for Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion and extend the US budget or face a damaging government shutdown next month.

US President Joe Biden is expected ask Congress for a joint US$100bn package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the migration crisis at the US-Mexico border, a source familiar with the talks told AFP Tuesday.

After Republicans captured a slim majority in the House after last year’s midterm elections, Mr Jordan snagged the powerful role of judiciary chairman and led an aggressive impeachment inquiry against Biden.

“I think Jim Jordan will be a great speaker,” Donald Trump said outside a courthouse in New York as he attended his civil trial for fraud. “I think he’s going to have the votes soon, if not today over the next day or two.”

A group of eight Republicans voted with Democrats to remove Mr McCarthy, the first time in US history a Speaker has been removed by a floor vote of the House, ostensibly because he was insufficiently insistent on cutting federal spending.