GOP in crisis talks as Jordan loses Speaker vote and democrat Jeffries wins more votes
House Republicans have been sent into a recess as Rep. Jim Jordan lost another vote to become House speaker on Wednesday.
Congressman Matt Gaetz files motion
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan failed again Wednesday on a second ballot to become House speaker, prompting GOP representatives to ‘air grievances’ in a recess after the vote.
A number of Republicans refused to back Jordan, leaving the House still leaderless and in turmoil after two weeks of party infighting.
Acting speaker Patrick McHenry said a “speaker has not been elected,” with the final tally at Jordan winning 199 votes and Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries winning 212 votes.
Four Republicans who backed Jordan on the first ballot rose to oppose him on Wednesday, while two Republicans who voted against Jordan on Tuesday changed their votes and supported him.
Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar noted that Jeffries has continued to win more votes and said he is the best choice to move the country forward: “The country cannot afford more delays and more chaos.”
READ MORE: Jim Jordan issues dire warning as he begs GOP to unite after first ballot flops
But Jordan does not appear to be willing to give in, as his spokesperson said they’re “going to keep going.”
Today, 22 Republicans voted against Jordan, compared to the 20 who did not support him on Tuesday.
Jordan said to reporters after the vote: “We picked up some today, a couple dropped off, but they voted for me before, I think they can come back again. So we’ll keep talking to members and keep working on it.”
McHenry called for a recess after the vote, with GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher saying he expected Republicans to go back into another conference meeting to “air grievances” after the failed speaker’s vote.
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Gallagher said he doesn’t know where they will go from here and warned of the dangers of their dysfunction.
He added that he has several “concerns” about empowering interim speaker McHenry, as an idea to empower him gains steam.
Gallagher also said he would support a Kevin McCarthy comeback if McCarthy wanted to, but he said he would not be interested in speakership himself.
It is unclear whether House Republicans will take more votes this afternoon or begin searching for a different way to handle the speaker situation.
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