Nearly three weeks after Kevin McCarthy was ousted as House speaker, the GOP is still unable to unite and decide on his replacement.
The chaos and infighting between House Republicans amid their failure to elect a new speaker looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Ohio Representative Jim Jordan has already lost two votes to replace Kevin McCarthy as House speaker after failing to get enough support from his own party to get the votes needed on the House floor.
A third vote is expected Friday morning, but there are no indications that Jordan will be able to get enough moderate defectors to support the hardline and MAGA congressman to the position that is second in line to the presidency. In the first round, Jordan received 200 votes from his party, but lost support in Wednesday’s ballot and received 199 votes.
In a press conference early Friday morning, Jordan urged the party to show unity to get him elected as speaker so the current deadlock can be broken and the House can resume its vital legislative work.
« We need to get to work for the American people. We need to do what we said we were going to do, » Jordan said. « We need to do what we told them we were going to do when they elected us and put us in office. »
Jordan had already met with several of the GOP defectors who said they will not support his bid.
« We’re still in the same spot. He doesn’t have the votes to be speaker, » Florida Representative Carlos A. Gimenez, who has twice voted for McCarthy to return to the role from which he was ousted, told reporters on Thursday.
Elsewhere, there are several other examples of the disarray that is plaguing the GOP and essentially leaving the entire U.S. government in limbo without a House speaker.
Several House Republicans have spoken out against alleged intimidation tactics from Jordan and his supporters to try to convince them to support his bid.
Following Wednesday’s vote, Iowa Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks said she had received « credible » death threats after she changed her vote from Jordan in the first ballot to Representative Kay Granger of Texas in the second.
