Jim Jordan Loses First House Speaker Vote

Democrats unanimously voted for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, while 20 Republicans voted against Jordan

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan lost his first round of voting for speaker of the House after Republicans could not unify behind their new conference leader.

Democrats unanimously voted for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, while 20 Republicans voted against Jordan. The holdouts include Reps. Mario Diaz Balart (who voted for former nominee Steve Scalise) and Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, who voted for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Of the holdouts, Politico reports that seven Republicans voted for Scalise, six voted for McCarthy and three voted for New York Rep. Lee Zeldin. California Rep. Mike Garcia, Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole and Kentucky Rep. Tom Massie each earned one vote.

House Republicans chose Jordan as the party's nominee to replace ousted Speaker McCarthy last week, amid considerable turmoil in the party and ahead of a looming government shutdown.

Despite the failure of the first round of voting, at least some Republicans — including — are confident Jordan's support will grow. “Jim Jordan will be a great speaker,” Trump told reporters outside a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday, per the Associated Press. “I think he’s going to have the votes soon, if not today, over the next day or two.”

Related: Steve Scalise Nominated by House Republicans to Replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker

Historically, the speaker election is a formality in which the party that controls the House easily elects its candidate to the position. But since Republicans retook the House in January, that precedent has changed.

The contentious first round of voting was a repeat of sorts of former House Speaker McCarthy's own battle for the role in January when he battled Republican rebels who worked to sabotage his bid for the speakership, preventing him from earning a majority vote until he gave in to their demands. That speaker election ultimately took four days and 15 rounds of voting.

Ultimately, McCarthy's time as speaker was cut short in September when, in an unprecedented motion, he was ousted from the nation's third-highest post followed a recall vote in which the House voted 216-210 to strip the lawmaker of his leadership role.

After the recall vote, the House clerk announced Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina as speaker pro tempore until a permanent speaker is elected. McCarthy, 58, picked McHenry, 47, as his successor in January, Politico reported.

Jordan was nominated by House Republicans after the previous nominee, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, withdrew from the speaker race just one day prior due to a lack of widespread support within the Republican Party.

Jordan was first elected to Congress in 2006 and represents Ohio’s fourth district. He also is one of the founding chairmen of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. He also once challenged McCarthy for the speakership.

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