Jim Jordan tries to win over GOP to become next House speaker – live

Rep Jim Jordan told CNN that he’s planning to go to the floor of the House for a speaker vote tomorrow at 12pm ET, regardless if he has the votes he needs or not.

Mr Jordan said previously that he didn’t want to go to the floor before securing the support of 217 Republicans.

“We’ll go the floor tomorrow,” he told Manu Raju.

“That’s how our great system works. And we will go to the floor tomorrow. It’s not about pressuring anybody just about we got to have a speaker. You can’t open the House and do the work of the American people and help our dearest and closest friend Israel,” he added.

“We set it for 12pm. I feel good about it,” he said.

When Mr Jordan was asked if he would move on to a second vote if he fails on the first, he simply said: “We are going to elect a speaker tomorrow.”

“If you don’t have a speaker, so we get a speaker, we get the House open and we get to work on the resolution and supplemental for Israel,” he told the network. “And we get back to work for the American people. That’s what I’ve committed to doing.”

When asked about his earlier comments on only going to the floor after having secured 217 votes, Mr Jordan said, “I do think that’s, that’s ideal, but … I don’t know if there’s any way to ever get that in the room. I would love that. But I think the only way to do this is the way the Founders intended”.

While Mr Jordan and his allies have shrunk the number of members set to vote against him, he remains below the threshold of 217 votes.

Rep Ken Calvert, a California Republican, announced his support for Mr Jordan on Monday, writing on X that “Keeping America safe is my top priority in Congress. After having a conversation with Jim Jordan about how we must get the House back on a path to achieve our national security and appropriations goals, I will be supporting him for Speaker on the floor. Let’s get to work”.

Nearly two weeks ago, Congressman Matt Gaetz and seven other hardline MAGA Republican lawmakers voted to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker after he brokered a deal with Democrats to keep the government running.

The move was condemned by numerous House GOP lawmakers, who complained that it projects dysfunction and an inability to govern.

House Republicans have failed thus far to coalesce behind a new speaker. Congressman Steve Scalise floated a run but withdrew his name from consideration after he failed to rally enough support to secure the position.

Congressman Jim Jordan, Donald Trump’s preferred Speaker, is also running, but will likely be opposed by some Republicans who objected to Mr McCarthy’s removal.

Appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, Congressman Mike Turner acknowledged that Mr Jordan was trying to gather enough support — 217 votes — to take the job, but acknowledged he hadn’t hit that number.

If Rep Jim Jordan is unable to grasp the gavel, a number of Republicans have mentioned Louisiana Rep Mike Johnson as a possible next option. The vice chair of the Republican conference, 51, has been floated alongside Majority Whip Tom Emmer, 62, who has spent the last half-decade in the leadership, with most of his time going to chairing the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).

While Mr Emmer has some backers on the right of the party, large parts of the Trump wing aren’t as supportive, Punchbowl News notes.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy may start believing in an unlikely comeback if the speaker race doesn’t come to a resolution this week. This would require at least four of the eight members who voted against him to flip.

Many GOP members have told the press that their party is so divided that no candidate can get 217 votes from the party, meaning that votes from Democrats may be required to get over the line.

But there have been no major discussions between the parties and the Democrats would use their leverage to push for major concessions, and it’s unclear what a deal would look like.

Any member of the chamber could simply step onto the floor when the House opens and put forward a privileged resolution to strengthen and widen the powers of the temporary speaker, Rep Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. The McCarthy ally and famed gavel-slammer could also be elected as the permanent speaker.

Several members of the GOP establishment are working to take down Rep Jim Jordan’s speaker bid.

A number of Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee as well as the Appropriations Committee are set to vote against Mr Jordan indefinitely, Punchbowl News notes, as they are sceptical of his beliefs and record on government and defence funding.

There are reportedly about 10 Republicans who are steadfastly against a Jordan speakership, but they haven’t decided who to put forward in his place. This is enough to permanently block Mr Jordan as he can only lose four of the 221 Republicans in the chamber to reach the 217 votes he needs in the face of unified Democratic opposition.

There are whispers that GOP rightwingers might move to employ an internal resolution to get rid of the entire Republican leadership in the House. There’s also a suggestion that another internal speaker race be held, where the top candidate is nominated for speaker, the second becomes majority leader, and on it goes.

Some legislators have also indicated that choosing a speaker by House resolution on a plurality vote could be an option.

But both of these plans are unlikely to come to fruition.

It’s been almost two weeks since the House Republicans ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy and they have yet to elect a new leader of the chamber.

Following the failure of Majority Leader Steve Scalise to get the support needed from his own party, it’s now up to the man who came up short against Mr Scalise for the nomination – Rep Jim Jordan – to make an attempt.

The House GOP remains divided, dysfunctional, and disorganized, with members telling reporters over the weekend that the pressure is mounting on holdouts to support Mr Jordan.

Mr Jordan, the chair of the Judiciary Committee is moving towards a vote on the floor of the House on Tuesday (17 October).

The Ohio Republican won a nomination vote on Friday (13 October), receiving 124 votes against 81 for Rep Austin Scott, who put his name in for contention while noting he didn’t actually want to be speaker. Observers noted that the support for Mr Scott revealed the substantial antipathy towards Mr Jordan within the conference.

Mr McCarthy, the ex-speaker, pushed for a second vote on Mr Jordan’s nomination, during which 152 members voted yes and 55 said no.

While Mr Jordan’s team says they have minimised the number during the course of the weekend, the number of members opposed to his speakership is estimated to remain in the double digits, according to Punchbowl News.

But Republicans supporting Mr Jordan are still pushing to bring the vote to the floor as a way to put public pressure on the holdouts. Several votes may take place depending on what the opposition looks like on Tuesday. Those backing Mr Jordan have said that the backlash from the Trump wing of the GOP will be fierce against those blocking the Ohioan.

A staff member from the Hannity programme on Fox News wrote an email to holdouts asking why they’re not backing Mr Jordan, but the email is reportedly having the opposite effect, with its pressuring tone possibly pushing members away from the Judiciary chair, according to Axios.

Mr Jordan is also trying to push the House GOP towards a presidential candidate – former White House incumbent Donald Trump – in the middle of a primary with those not backing him likely supporting other candidates.

A production team member on Fox News’s Hannity team sent an email to a number of House Republicans asking why they aren’t backing Jim Jordan’s speaker bid.

Juliegrace Brufke of Axios wrote on X on Sunday night that “moderates are growing increasingly irritated with the tactics Jordan allies are using to pressure them into voting for him, with one member noting the Hannity show has gotten involved in the efforts sending potential defectors the email below. One lawmaker said the push is counterproductive to swaying Jordan skeptics”.

The Independent has reached out to Fox News and Fox Corp for comment.

Ms Brufke included a screenshot of the formula email:

Hello, Stephanie from the Hannity show with Fox News. Sources tell Hannity that Rep xxxx is not supporting Rep Jim Jordan for Speaker. Can you please let me know if this is accurate? And, if true, Hannity would like to know why during a war breaking out between Israel and Hamas, with the war in Ukraine, with the wide open borders, with a budget that’s unfinished why would Rep xxxx be against Rep Jim Jordan for speaker? Please let us know when Rep xxxx plans on opening The People’s House so work can be done. Lastly, are there any conditions Rep xxxx will choose to work with Democrats on the process of electing a new speaker? The deadline for comment is 11 AM ET tomorrow 10/16. Thank you.

Steve Scalise, a longtime member of House Republican leadership, fought hard to win the GOP nomination to be Speaker of the House, following the dramatic ousting of Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

In a Wednesday morning vote, the Louisiana congressman beat out Jim Jordan to win the nomination by a total of 113-99. Mr Scalise needed to win 217 votes on the House floor to take the speaker’s gavel, meaning he could only lose up to four Republican votes, and multiple members of his caucus had expressed they may still vote for Mr Jordan.

However, in a shock twist on Thursday, Mr Scalise announced that he would be withdrawing his name from the running after failing to secure enough votes. “If you look at where our conference is, there’s still work to be done,” he said. “Our conference still has to come together. And it’s not there.”

Social media commentators didn’t have much faith in Steve Scalise’s aspirations to become the next House speaker, including one user who correctly predicted that a head of lettuce would outlast the Majority Leader’s goals.

“My money’s on the lettuce,” MeidasTouch Network posted on X on Thursday, alongside a picture featuring a framed photo of Mr Scalise next to an example of the salad ingredient adorned with googly eyes.

“Winning. Winner. Won,” one user wrote.

“The undefeated Lettuce wins again,” another joked.

The post was an echo of memes by British newspaper the Daily Star that haunted embattled UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose short tenure in the post was compared to the “shelf-life of a lettuce” in The Economist.

Rep Jim Jordan is now faced with the challenge of trying to win over members of the Republican party so that he can secure enough votes to become the next speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Ohio congressman won the GOP nomination on Friday afternoon, beating challenger Rep Austin Scott by 124 votes to 81. Mr Scott is reported to not actually want to be speaker, with observers saying the vote for him indicates the significant part of the party which would be uncomfortable with Mr Jordan as speaker.

Mr Jordan is facing an uphill climb to secure the 217 votes needed by Tuesday when the House is expected to bring a vote to the floor.

He spent the weekend trying to win over support and is said to be confident that he can get to the necessary votes to take the gavel.

But, one House Republican told CBS News on Sunday that 10 to 20 members are still refusing to back him.