WASHINGTON (AP) — The House of Representatives has rejected Jim Jordan's nomination for speaker two weeks after the chamber ousted Kevin McCarthy from the top spot.
Jordan scrambled unsuccessfully to shore up the votes needed to clinch the speakership in the closely divided chamber. He could only afford to lose a few GOP votes to win the nod.
The Ohio congressman did even worse than Kevin McCarthy did on the first balloting of his election back in January.
Jordan lost 20 Republican votes, well more than the three he could spare to win the speaker's gavel.
More rounds of voting are expected as Jordan works to shore up support to replace McCarthy for the job and the leader of the GOP’s hard-right flank moves to take a central seat of U.S. power. But it's unclear when the next vote will take place.
The Jordan holdouts are a mix of pragmatists, ranging from seasoned legislators and committee chairs worried about governing to newer lawmakers from districts where their voters back home prefer President Joe Biden to former President Donald Trump.
Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon was among twenty Republicans who voted against Jordan, an outcome way worse than his allies were hoping for. Republican members of the Kansas and Missouri delegation voted for Jordan. Bacon cast his vote for Kevin McCarthy.
For his part, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is smiling and joking with colleagues as he no longer bears the weight of cajoling them to unite. He had earlier predicted that Jordan would clinch the gavel on the first round.
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