Having lost the first vote to become House speaker, Rep. Jim Jordan will try again on a decisive second ballot that will test whether the hard-edged ally of former President Donald Trump can win over the moderate holdouts or if his bid for the gavel is collapsing, denied by detractors.
Ahead of Wednesday morning’s voting, Jordan made a plea for party unity. The Judiciary Committee chairman told his colleagues on social media, “We must stop attacking each other and come together.”
But a surprisingly large and politically varied group of 20 Republicans rejected Jordan’s nomination, many resisting the hardball tactics enforcing support, and viewing the Ohio congressman as too extreme for the powerful position of House speaker, second in line to the presidency.
Additional voting Tuesday was postponed as the House hit a standstill, stuck while Jordan worked to shore up backing from Republican colleagues for the job to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy.
“We’re going to keep working,” Jordan said late Tuesday at the Capitol.
It’s been two weeks of angry Republican infighting since McCarthy’s sudden removal by hard-liners, who are now within reach of a central seat of U.S. power. The vote for House speaker, once a formality in Congress, has devolved into another bitter showdown for the gavel.
The tally, with 200 Republicans voting for Jordan and 212 for the Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, left no candidate with a clear majority, as the 20 Republicans voted for someone else. With Republicans in majority control 221-212, Jordan must pick up most of his GOP foes to win.
Jeffries swiftly intervened, declaring it was time for Republicans to partner with Democrats to reopen the House — in what would be an extraordinary if not unprecedented moment in congressional history.
Establishment lawmakers have been floating ways to operate the House by giving greater power to the interim speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., or another temporary speaker. The House had never ousted its speaker before McCarthy, and the lawmakers are in rarely tested terrain.
Jeffries said talks would “accelerate” between Democrats and moderate Republicans on alternative plans.
Late Tuesday, the novel concept was gaining favor with a pair of surprising high-profile Republicans: Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker, said while he likes Jordan, he has “no faith” the nominee can get much beyond the 200 votes he won in the first vote.
“We can’t sit around and suck our thumbs and hope the world will wait until the House Republicans get their act together,” Gingrich told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on his show.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.