Jordan falls short of Speakership on third ballot

Twenty-five Republicans blocked Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) from winning the Speakership on Friday, marking the third time this week the Judiciary Committee chairman has fallen short of clinching the gavel.

Jordan received 194 votes, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) won 210 votes.

Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) got six votes, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) got two votes and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) got eight votes. Nine Republicans voted for someone else.

The Republican opposition to Jordan on Friday was more than he had seen on the first and second ballots, a sign his support in the conference is waning.

Three Republicans flipped their votes to oppose him: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Tom Kean (R-N.J.) and Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.).

But in the lead-up to the vote, the fast-talking founding chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus gave no indication he plans to withdraw his name from the race.

It remains unclear if Jordan will take his nomination back to the floor for a fourth vote. Earlier Friday, he signaled he will continue the fight for the gavel through the weekend.

“Our plan this weekend is to get a Speaker elected to the House of Representatives as soon as possible so we can help the American people,” Jordan told reporters during a brief press conference in the Capitol.

Jordan initially eyed a third ballot Thursday, but he spiked those plans as more Republicans said they would oppose him when he brought his nomination back to the floor.

The Ohio Republican had a marathon day of meetings Thursday — with the entire GOP conference and a group of his holdouts — before scrapping plans for a vote that day.

The source of frustration for the Jordan defectors is varied. Some are angry at how Scalise was treated — he withdrew his name from the race one day after he clinched the nomination after some Jordan supporters said they would not back him. Others are still angry about the stunning ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) by eight Republicans and House Democrats.

Jordan allies, however, are arguing that his holdouts do not have a clear reason for withholding support from the Ohio Republican — and, as a result, keeping the House at a standstill.

“The right question is for these folks who are voting no on Jim Jordan is what is the real reason you’re voting no?” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-Pa.) told reporters after Jordan’s press conference Friday morning.

“They’re gonna tell their constituents that because Steve, who’s a good man, decided to drop out on his own, that it’s now Jim Jordan’s fault?” Perry said. “Let them go make that case.”

On Thursday, a Reuters photographer captured Jordan’s notes written on a piece of paper when he was leaving a meeting with his holdouts that read: “What is the real reason?”

Jordan won the GOP nomination for Speaker in a 124-81 vote last week, besting Rep. Austin Scott (R-Pa.), who mounted a last-minute challenge to the Ohio Republican. In a second vote that asked lawmakers if they would support Jordan on the floor, the vote was 152-55.

Jordan, however, only clinched the nomination after Scalise withdrew his name from the race. Scalise initially beat Jordan for the nomination in an internal 113-99 vote, but he dropped out amid opposition from Jordan backers.