For the third time this week, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, failed to secure enough votes to win the House Speakership on Friday.
This time, he was thwarted by 25 of his fellow Republicans, The Hill reports.
This growing opposition signals a potential decrease in his popularity within the GOP conference.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) emerged victorious with 210 votes, while Jordan trailed with 194.
Meanwhile, Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) secured six votes, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) received eight, and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had the backing of two members.
A group of nine Republicans cast their votes for other candidates.
Interestingly, three GOP members switched their votes against Jordan: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tom Kean (R-NJ), and Marc Molinaro (R-NY).
Despite the setback, Jordan remained steadfast in his resolve.
He shared with the media, “Our plan this weekend is to get a Speaker elected to the House of Representatives as soon as possible so we can help the American people.”
Previously, Jordan had hoped to put his nomination to a third ballot on Thursday.
However, he reconsidered when it became evident that more Republicans would stand against him.
Before making that decision, he engaged in lengthy meetings with GOP members, including those who had expressed reservations about his nomination.
Various reasons account for the reluctance of some Republicans to support Jordan.
A notable factor was the dissatisfaction over how Rep. Steve Scalise was treated.
After initially defeating Jordan with a 113-99 internal vote, Scalise withdrew his name from contention due to opposition from Jordan’s supporters, The Hill notes.
The surprising removal of former McCarthy by a coalition of eight Republicans and House Democrats also fueled dissatisfaction.
Supporters of Jordan, including House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-PA), challenge the reasons behind the opposition.
Perry remarked, “The right question is for these folks who are voting no on Jim Jordan is what is the real reason you’re voting no?”
He further argued, “They’re gonna tell their constituents that because Steve, who’s a good man, decided to drop out on his own, that it’s now Jim Jordan’s fault? Let them go make that case.”
A telling moment came on Thursday when a Reuters photographer spotted a note from Jordan which read: “What is the real reason?”
It remains to be seen whether Jordan will push for a fourth vote or if he will step aside to allow another candidate to move forward.
Last week, despite the challenges, Jordan did come out ahead in the GOP nomination for Speaker, beating Rep. Austin Scott (R-PA) 124-81.
This win was in a subsequent vote that polled members on whether they would back Jordan on the floor, where he led with a 152-55 margin.
However, it’s worth noting that Jordan’s initial victory came only after Scalise opted out of the race.
Following Jordan’s third loss, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told reporters that he and the eight others who voted to oust McCarthy offered to censure or remove themselves from the Republican conference to get holdouts to vote for Jim Jordan as speaker, Benny Johnson reported in a Twitter (X) post.
“We are willing to accept censure, sanction, suspension, removal from the Republican conference,” Rep. Gaetz said. “If what these holdouts need is a pound of our flesh, we’re willing to give it to them in order to see them elect Jim Jordan for Speaker.”
Gaetz shared a copy of a letter he sent his Republican colleagues that expressed his group’s willingness to accept censorship “if the holdouts who refuse to vote for Speaker-Designate Jordan would be willing to ‘vote with the team’ and elect him the 56th House Speaker.”
However, later Friday, it was revealed that Jordan ended up losing a secret ballot vote of the House GOP behind closed doors.
Members were taking a “yes” or “no” vote in their conference meeting on whether to keep Jordan as their nominee for speaker, according to CNN.
After the vote was announced that he lost, Jordan stood up and announced that he accepted the results.
Jordan reportedly said “he appreciated everyone’s support throughout the process” and that he “respected the decision.”
“He didn’t say the words I’m withdrawing but it was implicit in everything that he said,” another Republican said.
“Jim Jordan is out of the race,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene explained. “We’re supposed to come back for a candidate forum on Monday at 6:30.”
