Outspoken conservative Jim Jordan was falling short in his second attempt at the top job in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, this is as his fellow Republicans considered a backup option for the leaderless chamber to move forward.
Jordan looked like he would get less than the 217 votes needed to fill the vacant speaker’s chair, as 13 Republicans had cast ballots against him early in the roll-call vote. With a 221-212 Republican majority, that suggested Jordan would lose again. Voting was continuing.
Jordan secured just 200 Republican votes on Tuesday.
If the second vote fails, it is unclear whether Jordan would mount a third attempt, or whether he would clear the way for a fallback option that would give increased power to Representative Patrick McHenry, who has been temporarily filling the speaker’s chair.
Republicans who control the chamber have been unable to unite behind a speaker candidate since a small faction of them ousted Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 3.
That could allow Congress to respond to crises in the Middle East and Ukraine and fund the government past Nov. 17, when current funding is due to expire.
“We’ve got to decide today,” Jordan told reporters. “Both questions should be called. Let’s get an answer. We’ve been at this for two weeks. The American people deserve to have their government functioning.”
That idea has been floated by Republicans and Democrats, as well as two former Republican speakers, Newt Gingrich and John Boehner.
One proposal submitted by Republican Representative Mike Kelly would name McHenry as speaker through Nov. 17 or until a permanent speaker is selected, which would remove uncertainty about his current ability to run the chamber. That temporary solution could also buy more time for Jordan to line up support for the job after that point.
Democrats, whose support would likely be crucial, have made clear they want Jordan out of the picture. “We want a bipartisan path forward. That does not involve Jim Jordan, who is a poster child for Republican extremism and a danger to our democracy,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Tuesday.
