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Jim Jordan drops out of House speaker race after losing third vote

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, right, Republican Speaker designee, talks to his Chief of Staff Kevin Eichinger and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., after the House of Representatives failed to elevate Jordan to Speaker of the House for the third time in the U.S. Capitol on Friday in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America/TNS)
By Erin B. Logan and Faith E. Pinho Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives has endured nearly 17 full days without a leader, but no end to the crisis appeared in sight Friday as Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, former President Trump’s pick for speaker, dropped out of the race after he failed in his third attempt to secure the gavel.

The beleagured Republican rescinded his nomination after he reportedly lost a secret ballot vote among fellow Republicans in a private conference Friday afternoon. The vote tally was reportedly 122-86 against Jordan.

With Jordan no longer in the running, a vacuum of leadership among Republicans left Congress without a viable candidate to take his place. The conference is scheduled to hold a candidate forum at 3:30 p.m. Pacific on Monday. Lawmakers have until 9 a.m. Pacific Sunday to declare their candidacy.

Reps. Austin Scott of Georgia and Kevin Hern of Oklahoma said they would run for speaker.

Jordan argued in a news conference Friday morning that he offered the best chance for Republicans to break the impasse triggered by the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker on Oct. 3. But Jordan’s desperate effort to appease his fellow Republicans failed as opposition against him grew.

McCarthy, the ousted speaker, nominated Jordan in a floor speech. His efforts to corral his party fell flat.

Twenty-five Republicans voted against Jordan on Friday morning, up from the 22 Republicans who opposed his candidacy on Wednesday. Twenty Republicans voted against Jordan in his first effort to secure the speakership Tuesday.

A Democratic source told the Los Angeles Times that no more votes were scheduled Friday.

Jordan’s vote total of 194 was a new modern low for a majority party’s nominee for speaker. Despite the grim reality, Jordan expressed optimism after the vote, telling reporters that “the ones we lost could come back.”

When asked after the vote if his party was broken, McCarthy replied, “We’re in a very bad place right now, yes.”

House Democrats again voted unanimously for their nominee, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who received 210 votes. But the 25 members who voted for other candidates ensured that neither man could secure a majority of the House.

Republicans’ frustration rose Thursday after a Jordan-backed effort to empower temporary speaker pro tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., to advance legislation vaporized before a floor vote.

“We made the pitch to members on the (McHenry) resolution as a way to lower the temperature and get back to work,” Jordan said to reporters Thursday. “We decided that wasn’t where we’re gonna go. I’m still running for speaker and I plan to go to the floor and get the votes and win this race.”

The House has been without a leader since eight Republicans, led by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, joined with all House Democrats to remove McCarthy, R-Calif., on Oct. 3. The vote has left the House in disarray for weeks, as Republicans, who hold the majority, have argued over who should replace the Californian.

Seven of the Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy – Gaetz, Reps. Andy Biggs and Eli Crane of Arizona, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Bob Good of Virginia, Matthew M. Rosendale of Montana and Nancy Mace of South Carolina – circulated a letter to their colleagues saying they would sacrifice themselves for the good of the conference.

“We are willing to accept censure, sanction, suspension, and removal in order to see Jordan as speaker,” Gaetz told reporters after the vote. “If what these holdouts need are a pound of our flesh, we’re willing to give it to them to see Jordan as speaker.”

Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, the eighth Republican who ousted McCarthy, said he would continue to vote against Jordan.

Texas Rep. Troy Nehls, who thrice backed Jordan, said he would vote for former President Trump in the next round of voting.

“It’s now time to bring in the leader of our party to unite our Conference so we can get back to work for the American people,” Nehls said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

McHenry has led the House in a mostly ceremonial role since McCarthy’s ouster, using his position as speaker pro tempore to preside over Jordan’s three failed speakership votes.

House Democrats are likely to back legislation empowering McHenry under certain conditions. Jeffries has said he supports getting the chamber functioning again but he made clear his party will never back Jordan.

“Jim Jordan is a clear and present danger to our democracy,” Jeffries told reporters ahead of the vote. “We are saying to our traditional Republican colleagues, good men and women on the other side of the aisle: end the attachment to the extremist Jim Jordan and join with Democrats in finding a bipartisan path forward.”

At a news conference ahead of the third vote, Jordan said his defeats have left him unfazed, and suggested he would press ahead even if he lost again. McCarthy needed 15 votes, a modern record, to secure the speakership in January. McCarthy, however, never got as little support as Jordan did on Friday.