The House of Representatives is set to vote on Jim Jordan’s nomination for speaker on Tuesday afternoon, two weeks after the chamber ousted Kevin McCarthy from the top spot.
Jordan was scrambling to shore up the votes needed to clinch the vote in the closely divided chamber. He can likely only lose a few GOP votes to win the nod.
What to know
Jim Jordan’s rapid rise has been cheered by Trump and the far right
How the vote for a new speaker works
Scalise ends bid to become speaker as holdouts refuse to back him
McCarthy was an early architect of the GOP majority that became his downfall
Speaker McCarthy ousted in historic House vote
Jordan clinches support of Biden-district Republican
Hours before a floor vote, one of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s most loyal supporters threw his support behind Jordan after days of hesitation.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., a first-term member, said that after having several conversations with Jordan, he’s decided to vote for him on the floor.
“There’s too much at stake to continue to be stalled,” he posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. “I came to D.C. to work—not sit around.”
Ciscomani was one of at least a dozen Republicans who had yet to throw their support behind Jordan. He represents a district won by Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Are we looking at 15 rounds of voting again?
It’s unlikely.
House Republicans are exhausted by weeks of infighting over who will lead the conference and frustrated by the inability of the chamber to pass legislation, particularly in response to the Israel-Hamas war.
Jordan’s supporters are confident that the public floor vote will force the remaining holdouts to flip their way. Kevin McCarthy narrowly won the speakership in January on the 15th round of balloting, after five excruciating days.
Showdown for the gavel
Republicans are gearing up for another attempt at seating a House speaker, hoping to elevate a chief ally of Donald Trump’s to a center seat of U.S. power.
The House is scheduled to start voting at noon in what could become a showdown for the gavel. At least a handful of holdout Republicans are refusing to give Jordan their votes, viewing the Ohio Republican as too extreme to be second in line to the presidency.
But with public pressure bearing down on lawmakers from Trump’s allies including conservative TV hosts, it’s unclear how long the holdouts can last.
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