Hardline conservative Republican Representative Jim Jordan failed to get the votes to become House Speaker Tuesday. What does that mean for the GOP?
As reporters chased Jim Jordan down a hallway shortly before yesterday’s vote, he declared himself « confident » of winning the speaker’s job.
He wouldn’t say if he had enough support or how many rounds of voting he was prepared to endure.
Actually, it was quite a feat for the Judiciary Committee chairman to lose by that margin – he could only afford three defectors – since he’d only gotten 124 votes in the GOP’s secret ballot, far short of the magic number of 217. Since a few of the converts had vowed to never, ever back Jordan, that highlighted his skill at winning over members.
His strongest argument at the moment may well be that with the speaker’s job vacant for nearly two weeks since Kevin McCarthy’s ouster, the House remains paralyzed, unable to vote even on such urgent issues as military aid to Israel.
