Jim Jordan fails again in bid for US House top job, Republicans eye backup option

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan - Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Outspoken conservative Jim Jordan vowed to keep trying for the top job in the U.S. House of Representatives after losing ground in a second vote on Wednesday, as his fellow Republicans considered a backup option for the leaderless chamber.

Jordan, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, for a second straight day fell short of the 217 votes needed to fill the vacant speaker’s chair, as 22 Republicans and all 212 Democrats voted against him.

The House is now in its 16th day without a leader, which has left Congress unable to respond to the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine or to take action to head off a partial government shutdown which will begin in a month without congressional action.

Jordan’s vote total of 199 was less than the 200 Republican votes he secured on Tuesday. That is also fewer votes than ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy secured in any of the 15 rounds of voting he endured over four days in January before being elected speaker.

Republicans who control the chamber by a narrow 221-212 majority have been unable to unite behind a speaker candidate since a small faction of them ousted McCarthy on Oct. 3. Before that, they took Washington to the brink of a government shutdown.

“It’s just painfully obvious that what a lot of our people want to do we can’t do,” said Republican Representative Steve Womack, who voted against Jordan. “We’d like to elect a speaker and we can’t even do that.”

Jordan said he would not drop out and said he had not yet decided whether to hold a third vote.

“We’ll keep talking to members and keep working on it,” he told reporters.

But other Republicans said it was time to consider a fallback option that would give increased power to Representative Patrick McHenry, who has been temporarily filling the speaker’s chair.

“I don’t see the outcome changing,” Representative Mike Lawler told reporters. “We need to empower Patrick McHenry to serve as a temporary speaker so that we can do the work of the American people.”

That idea has been floated by Republicans and Democrats, as well as two former Republican speakers, Newt Gingrich and John Boehner.

It could also buy more time for Jordan to line up support for the job after that point.

Jordan’s supporters say he would be an effective advocate for advancing conservative priorities in Washington, where Democrats control the White House and the Senate.

“I don’t think anybody in here on any issue of any substance would have to guess where Jim Jordan is going to stand. He doesn’t deceive. He doesn’t dissemble. He simply tells you straight up,” Republican Representative Tom Cole said as he nominated Jordan for speaker ahead of the vote.

But other Republicans have voted against him for a variety of reasons, including his positions on taxes, spending, and disaster aid, and the strong-arm tactics of his supporters.

New Republican alternatives aside from McHenry could also emerge if Jordan does not pick up support. Republicans who opposed Jordan voted for 10 different candidates, including Boehner and two others who no longer serve in Congress.

Jordan, a former wrestling coach, is a close ally of former President Trump and a founder of the House Freedom Caucus.

Unlike previous House leaders, who gained influence by raising money and building broad coalitions, Jordan has made his name as a vocal leader of the party’s hard right, tangling with Democrats and Republicans alike.

He helped drive Republican Boehner into retirement in 2015 and advocated for government shutdowns in 2013 and 2018.