House speaker vote live updates: Republicans poised to reject Jordan on 2nd ballot
The House is expected to cast second-round votes for the next speaker Wednesday morning after Rep. Jim Jordan failed to win the speakership Tuesday when 20 Republicans voted against him.
Jordan, a conservative firebrand, staunch Donald Trump loyalist and founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, received his party's nomination last week after House Majority Leader Steve Scalise bowed out of the race.
The Ohio congressman now faces an uphill battle in securing the 217 votes he needs to win the gavel.
Latest Developments
Oct 18, 11:14 AM
Republicans poised to reject Jordan on 2nd ballot
Jordan is poised to lose Wednesday on a second ballot on the election of a speaker, but the Ohio Republican is showing no signs of giving up.
While Jordan has continued to attempt to sway holdout Republicans, only Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California has announced a change of heart following the first ballot. LaMalfa had initially voted for his fellow Californian, McCarthy -- and now says he’ll support Jordan instead of the former speaker on the second ballot.
But the 19 other Republicans who bucked Jordan in the first round have not publicly shifted their stance yet, and Jordan is actually expected to lose additional lawmakers on the 2nd ballot.
Oct 18, 10:26 AM
Jordan could lose more Republicans on 2nd ballot
A few Republican holdouts are reluctant to even take another meeting with Jordan or return his phone calls ahead of the second ballot set for Wednesday morning, sources tell ABC News.
By forcing another vote, Jordan runs the risk of losing even more Republicans on the second ballot. It's unclear just how many gave him assurances that they'd only support him on the first round.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that talks between Democrats and Republicans have accelerated on an alternative plan to get the House back to business. Sources say Jeffries floated the idea of elevating a temporary speaker for a limited time so the House can do its work -- a signal that a growing number of Democrats could support this plan.
Most Republicans expect the opposition against Jordan to grow Wednesday.
-ABC's Rachel Scott and Katherine Faulders
Oct 18, 9:42 AM
If Jordan’s can’t win, one Republican wants to empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry
Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, one of the few remaining moderates in the GOP majority, could bring up a motion to empower temporary speaker Patrick McHenry if Jordan can't lock down the votes for speaker on the second ballot Wednesday morning.
"After two weeks without a Speaker of the House and no clear candidate with 217 votes in the Republican conference, it is time to look at other viable options. By empowering Patrick McHenry as Speaker Pro Tempore we can take care of our ally Israel until a new Speaker is elected," Joyce said in a statement.
By officially "empowering" McHenry, Republicans could give themselves a (temporary) off ramp to approve emergency aid to Israel and to fund the government to avert a shutdown next month.
It's not clear how long Joyce is proposing to empower McHenry, or if Republicans will allow Joyce to do so, instead of letting others run for speaker if Jordan falls short. It's likely Democrats would need to back the proposal on the House floor, too.
McHenry and his team have suggested he isn't interested in the role.
-ABC's Benjamin Siegel
Oct 17, 7:58 PM
Next speaker vote expected Wednesday morning
The next speaker vote will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jordan said after he left a two-hour meeting in Whip Emmer's office.
He reiterated that he is not going to drop out of the speaker battle and emphasized that he had basically the same level of support as McCarthy on his first vote in January.
Jordan said he expects to gain support in a Wednesday morning vote, mentioning Florida Rep. Gus Bilirakis, who missed today's vote because of a family funeral. He didn’t address potential future defectors.
Oct 17, 4:52 PM
What Republicans are saying about Jordan's first-round loss
Emerging from the floor after Jordan's failed first vote, some Republicans expressed open frustration while others remained optimistic.
"We gotta wake up and stop this nonsense. There's real serious work to be done," Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Meuser said.
Meuser had "direct" and "strong" conversations with GOP colleagues after the vote to try to swing them, he said. "We've got to understand -- we've got to operate as a team, because if we don't, we will lose everything."
But he has to contend with members such as Colorado's Ken Buck, who is staunchly anti-Jordan because of concerns he won't support Ukraine funding and because of his role in protesting the 2020 election results.
"I am not going to vote for Jim, I just think there's too much there at this point," Buck told ABC News. Buck said he feels so strongly "because I just don't think that we can win the presidential election if we have candidates and leaders in our party who won't admit that Donald Trump lost, who won't admit that the Republican Party wants to move forward."
Of course, Republicans such as Meuser and others argued that not voting in a speaker will also threaten GOP victories in the next election.
"I think it absolutely casts a bad cloud over the institution and Republicans," New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told ABC News.
Still others, however, were more optimistic -- comparing this process to McCarthy's and using it to argue that Jordan is on track for success.
"Do you believe that at the end of the day, it's going to be Speaker Jordan?" ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott asked Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett.
"I do," he replied.
-ABC's Cheyenne Haslett
Oct 17, 4:26 PM
GOP infighting continues
Jordan met with Scalise behind closed doors on Tuesday and asked for help to get the needed votes, a source told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott. The source says Scalise wouldn't commit to helping Jordan.
Scalise was the conference's first choice for speaker in an internal contest last week, as he defeated Jordan 113-99. But he dropped out days later, amid opposition from holdouts who were backing Jordan.
Of the 20 Republicans who voted against Jordan in the first round, seven voted for Scalise.
Scalise cast his vote for Jordan.
Oct 17, 3:57 PM
Jeffries urges GOP to join Dems in 'finding a bipartisan path forward'
ABC News asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries if he sees Republicans forging a way out of the speakership impasse today.
"It's not a complicated situation," Jeffries responded. "We just need traditional Republicans to break from the extremists and join us in finding a bipartisan path forward. We've said it over and over and over again. We are ready, willing and able to get together and reopen the House."
Oct 17, 4:01 PM
Jordan tells ABC more members will vote for him on 2nd ballot
ABC News caught Jordan moments after he left the House chamber. He made it clear that he's staying in the race for speaker, insisting there will be another vote tonight.
"We thought we were doing well ... that we were in that area or a little more maybe, but we feel confident. We already talked to some members who are going to vote with us on the second ballot," Jordan said as he rushed into an office.
-ABC's Rachel Scott, Lauren Peller, Arthur Jones and John Parkinson
Oct 17, 3:18 PM
What do Republicans do next? ANALYSIS
ABC News Political Director Rick Klein and ABC News Deputy Political Director Averi Harper appeared on ABC News Live to discuss what's next after Jordan's failed first bid for the speakership.
Klein said Republicans have a choice to make: hold another round of voting and hope holdouts move toward Jordan, try to draft another candidate who may be able to unite the party or find an "exit ramp" that allows the business of the House to continue under the speaker pro tempore.
Watch their analysis of the speaker race below.
Oct 17, 2:49 PM
Jordan's team says expect another round of votes today
“The House needs a speaker as soon as possible," Russell Dye, a spokesperson for Jordan, said in a statement. "Expect another round of votes today. It’s time for Republicans to come together."
The timing of a second vote, however, remains unclear.
-ABC's Katherine Faulders
