Rep. Jim Jordan has reportedly been sending mixed messages about his bids to become House speaker.
On Thursday, some representatives said that Jordan told them of his intent to suspend his bid for speakership. That same day, Jordan’s spokesperson Russel Dye told The Washington Post, “Jordan will be the next speaker.”
By Friday morning, Jordan announced his decision. Despite stubborn opposition, Rep. Jim Jordan is digging in for a fight to become House speaker, with voting set for Friday at 10 a.m.
“The American people are hungry for change,” Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chair, said in a news conference at the Capitol.
Drawing on his Ohio roots, Jordan urged his colleagues to vote for him… and he compared the House’s drawn-out election to the history of American innovators, including Neil Armstrong and the Wright brothers.
“In 66 years, one lifetime, we went from two guys flying 100 feet to putting a man on the moon. It is a great country,” Jordan said.
“Americans expect their government to fight for them. They expect us to finish our work, and they expect us to keep faith with the principles and values that made us the greatest nation ever, made us the nation that could go from the Wright brothers to Neil Armstrong… The quickest way to get all this working is to get a speaker elected.”
After two failed votes, Jordan’s third attempt at the gavel is not expected to end any better. After all, he performed worse on the second round than on the first.
Friday may produce an even worse tally for Jordan.
Take a look at this live-streamed footage of the House floor —
On Oct. 3, the House ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from the speakership, and it has struggled to find a replacement.
Next steps were highly uncertain as angry, frustrated Republicans predict the House could essentially stay closed for the foreseeable future — perhaps until the mid-November deadline for Congress to approve funding or risk a federal government shutdown.
It remains unclear whether anyone can win a clear majority, 217 votes, to become speaker.
Some Republicans have been given pause because of Jordan’s hardball tactics. For example, Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., has accused Jordan of trying to strongarm other Republicans into voting for him.
“He doesn’t have the votes to be speaker,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., said after a late Thursday meeting when Jordan sought to hear detractors out and shore up support.
The holdouts want “nothing” from Jordan, Gimenez said, adding that some of the lawmakers in the meeting simply called on Jordan to drop out of the race.
One extraordinary idea, to give the interim speaker pro tempore, Rep. Patrick McHenry, more powers for the next several months to at least bring the House back into session and conduct crucial business, was swiftly rejected by Jordan’s own conservative allies.
A “betrayal,” said Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind.
In other words, empowering McHenry may require the Republicans to make a deal with some Democrats.
“We’re trying to figure out if there’s a way we can get back with a Republican-only solution,” said veteran legislator Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.
Plus, McHenry himself has bristled at the idea.
“I’m going to abide by the Constitution and the rules of the House, and no one is going to put me in a different position,” McHenry said late Thursday. “If there is some goal to subvert the House rules to give me powers without a formal vote, I will not accept it.”
What is clear is that Jordan was refusing to step aside. Jordan appears determined to wait out his foes, just like McCarthy before him.
“What we saw with Speaker McCarthy in the 15 rounds is that he went down first and then he came back,” said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., referring to January’s historic election. “That’s where we are with Jordan.”
But earlier, Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., said, “It’s not going to happen.”
Take a look at Jordan’s invocation of the Wright brothers —
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) October 20, 2023
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.