Jim Jordan Nominated by House Republicans to Replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker After Steve Scalise's Withdrawal

The Ohio Republican has been nominated by the House Republicans as their new leader, beating Georgia Rep. Austin Scott in a closed-door vote

Jim Jordan has been selected as the new Republican House speaker nominee, aiming to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted in a historic recall vote on Oct. 3.

On Friday, House Republicans voted to make Jordan their new party leader and nominee for House speaker, selecting him over opponent Austin Scott of Georgia, according to reports from both NBC News and The Hill.

The latest vote comes after the previous nominee, Steve Scalise, withdrew from the speaker race on Thursday evening due to a lack of widespread support within the Republican Party. Jordan may face the same challenges, as the House GOP struggles to unite behind a single candidate (and will need to do so in order to elect a speaker when the House calls a vote).

Jordan, who currently serves as the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, earned 124 votes on Friday to secure the Republican nomination, while Rep. Scott earned 81 votes, according to Axios.

After Jordan was nominated, the House GOP held another vote to see how many of the 221 Republican members of Congress would be willing to support Jordan at a House speaker election — he will need to get at least 217 Republicans on his side before Monday in order to secure a majority vote at the speaker election and end the congressional gridlock. In that vote, 152 Republicans committed to supporting Jordan, 55 said they do not plan to support Jordan, and one voted present, according to Arkansas Rep. French Hill.

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

According to NBC News, the House representatives have been advised “that no votes are expected in the House until approximately 6:00 p.m. on Monday, October 16.”

As the House Republicans wait to regroup and vote on Monday, Jordan has been conducting meetings with representatives who are holding out, according to a GOP aide, reports CNN. Additionally, Jordan told CNN reporters, he believes he’ll receive the 217 votes. “I think we’ll get 217 votes – that’s the quickest way to get unified and get to the floor,” said the Ohio congressman.

The Ohio Republican 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. Ahead of McCarthy’s tenure, Jordan once challenged McCarthy for the speakership.

Related: Kevin McCarthy Caught in Most Contentious House Speaker Election Since 1859 After Losing a Ninth Time

After Scalise withdrew — and before Rep. Scott joined the race — the Georgia Congressman shared his frustrations with CNN. “We’ve got a very small group of people that they have to have everything their way. We had a group that sabotaged Speaker McCarthy and now we’ve had a group that sabotaged Steve Scalise, both of them great people,” said Scott.

The Republican party will continue to vote until a candidate earns the majority. The House is working urgently to elect a new Speaker in order to prevent a looming government shutdown and continue the branch’s legislative responsibilities.

Jordan’s newfound lead follows Scalise’s withdrawal from the race after he attempted to increase votes in a closed-door vote on Thursday, which ultimately lost him nearly a dozen supporters, after the initial vote which favored Scalise 113-99 over Jordan.

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“This country is counting on us to come back together. This House of Representatives needs a speaker and we need to open up the House again, but clearly not everybody is there, and there’s still schisms that have to get resolved,” Scalise said after his withdrawal, CNN reported.

This current race follows 10 days after the House of Representatives held a recall vote, removing previous Speaker McCarthy from the government’s third highest position.

Since the historic removal, and throughout the elections, Rep. Patrick McHenry is currently serving as temporary Speaker Pro Tempore. While Rep. McHenry remains as the temporary Speaker, CNN reported that the Republican representatives were considering granting additional privileges to McCarthy’s current replacement.

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