Jordan ousted by House GOP as speaker nominee after failed third vote

POLITICS

Multiple House speaker candidates emerge after failed Jordan bid as GOP plans to reconvene Monday

At least eight Republican lawmakers have emerged as potential House speaker candidates in the wake of Rep. Jim Jordan's departure from the race on Friday.

House Republicans are starting from scratch to select a new candidate for speaker after Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was voted out of the race.

At least eight people have emerged as potential candidates to lead the House immediately after a closed-door House GOP vote on whether to keep Jordan as speaker designate.

Republicans are expected to meet behind closed doors on Monday evening for a candidate forum before a conference-wide election via secret anonymous ballot on Tuesday.

Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla., was one of the first GOP lawmakers to put his hat in the ring on Friday afternoon. 

"We must unify and do it fast," Hern said in a statement. "We need a different type of leader who has a proven track record of success, which is why I’m running for Speaker of the House."

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, talks to reporters after House Republicans dropped him as their nominee for speaker in a private meeting, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Jim Jordan, who was removed as Republican speaker nominee this afternoon, says he told his colleagues that he wants to work as hard as he can to help elect a new speaker and get the chamber back to work.

Jordan was asked what he told the GOP conference, in which he was removed as speaker nominee after a third failed vote to elect him speaker earlier today.

"I thanked everyone. I said, look, I think we need to call this question. Do you want me to remain as your speaker designee and keep fighting? I will definitely do that. That's my attitude. I think that's that's an American attitude. But I felt we had to know."

"So I called for the question, asked for unanimous consent, got the results. And I thanked every one of our of our colleagues and said, I will work as hard as I can to help help all of you, help our help our team, help us get a new speaker and go, go do the work that the American people want us to do. And that's what I'm gonna do," he said.

It's unclear what the next steps will be, but the House has sent everyone home for the weekend, meaning no more votes are expected imminently. Other Republicans, including Rep. Kevin Hern have started putting their names forward as potential candidates. There are other suggestions of empowering Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., says Jim Jordan -- who was just ousted by the House GOP conference -- was "knifed" by his fellow Republicans.

"The most popular Republican in Congress was just knifed in an an anonymous vote in a secret closed door meeting in the basement of the Capitol," he said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "This is the Swamp at work."

Gaetz led the push to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and is a supporter of Jordan.

The conference removed Jordan as the nominee on Friday after he failed to gather enough Republican support to pick up the gavel in three separate votes.

It is unclear what the next steps will be for the conference. Some lawmakers had backed the idea of empowering Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry.

Meanwhile, Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla, the head of the Republican Study Committee, said he will be running for speaker.

The White House is taking aim at "chaotic" infighting from House Republicans -- and urging them to unite with President Biden to deliver the supplemental budget request.

"While Joe Biden fights to advance bipartisan legislation that will protect our national security interests - including in Israel and Ukraine - provide humanitarian assistance for innocent civilians in Gaza, deliver critical border funding, compete with China, and grow our economy, House Republicans are somehow still fighting with each other," deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement.

"House Republicans need to end their chaotic infighting and their competitions to out-extreme one another, and instead join President Biden in working on urgent priorities for American families shared by both parties in Congress," he said.

The House GOP conference  on Friday voted to drop Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan as its speaker nominee after a third defeat in floor-wide votes earlier today.

Sources told Fox News Digital that the conference had voted to remove Jordan as the nominee in a closed-door meeting.

It's unclear what the next steps will be, but the House has sent everyone home for the weekend, meaning no more votes are expected.

Fox News' Liz Elkind, Peter Doocy and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

House Republicans are huddling behind closed doors to figure out a path forward after Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, lost even more support for his House speaker bid in a third-round House vote.

GOP lawmakers are still in disarray more than two weeks after ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted.

They are now expected to hold a closed-door vote on whether Jordan will remain Republicans' speaker-designate.

Twenty-five Republicans voted for someone other than Jordan. Three people who had voted for Jordan in previous rounds switched their votes against him: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., and Thomas Kean, R-N.J.

Molinaro told reporters ahead of the vote that he would not be supporting Jordan now.

"It is not my intention to do so today. That doesn't mean that I've closed the door entirely," Molinaro said about voting for Jordan.

"We had hoped, and I had worked with Congressman Jordan, to try to unify the conference. We are not unified. Opposition is entrenched. There is a level of anger and violence, threats of violence that are unacceptable. The best approach is to go back into our room and try to coalesce around a conservative candidate who can lead not only our conference, but Congress.," Molinaro said.

The House of Representatives hold a third vote on Republican Rep. Jim Jordan's candidacy to become the speaker, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Jordan, the House Judiciary chairman and staunch ally of Donald Trump, was rejected again by some members of his own party. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Republicans will meet in a private meeting at 1pm, Fox News is told.

They will vote behind closed doors to determine whether the conference still stands behind House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan as their nominee for Speaker.

A senior House Republican source tells Fox it is believed Jordan would lose that vote after his performance on the floor.

The Republican conference would then try to figure out who is the next Speaker candidate or candidates. It is unclear if that could consume the afternoon or take a few days. It’s possible the GOP may just take the weekend to regroup and come back to consider Speaker candidates on Monday, but that is uncertain.

Fox asked specifically about the resolution by Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, to temporarily empower acting Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry as elected Speaker Pro Tempore for a fixed period.

“I think we need to go through at least one more name (of a candidate) before that,” said one senior GOP source to Fox News.

In short, we could know within the next few hours if the GOP stands behind Jordan or not.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., listens as Republicans try to elect Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a top Donald Trump ally, to be the new House speaker, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who led the charge to ouster former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, says he and his fellow Republican rebels are prepared to accept punishment from the conference if it results in Jim Jordan becoming speaker.

"We are willing to accept censure, sanction, suspension, removal from the Republican conference," Gaetz said.

Gaetz led the push to remove McCarthy from office over two weeks ago. Since then, Republicans have been gridlocked over a replacement.

Gaetz spoke moments after a third vote in which Jordan fell far short of the 217 votes he needs to win the gavel.

"We, of course, will remain Republicans, we will continue to vote with Republicans on Republican principles, but 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," he said.

Jordan has indicated there will be more votes throughout the weekend.

Fox News' Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, listens as Republicans try to elect Jordan, a top Donald Trump ally, to be the new House speaker, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Rep. Jim Jordan has seen even more Republicans vote against him in the third round of voting for the House speaker's gavel.

25 Republicans voted against Jordan, giving him just 194 votes -- far short of the approximately 217 he would need to win the speaker's race. It's his lowest total so far in the three ballots.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries picked up 210 votes from House Democrats.

Among Republican holdouts, 8 voted for Rep. Steve Scalise, 6 for Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry and two for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Jordan is expected to push for votes throughout the weekend and in an early morning press conference said it was time for the House to get back to work.

"Our plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected to the House of Representatives soon as possible, so we can help the American people," Jordan told reporters.

Jordan called on Congress to "get to work" and cited the crisis in the Middle East as well as the looming government funding deadline on Nov. 17.

"We've got important work to do, important work to do. We need to help Israel. We need to get the appropriations process moving so that the key elements of our government are funded and funded in the right way, particularly our military," Jordan said.

Fox News' Liz Elkind, Houston Keene and Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

Rep. Jim Jordan watches as the House of Representatives votes for a third time on whether to elevate Jordan to Speaker of the House in the U.S. Capitol on October 20, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is on track to lose a third round vote for the speaker's gavel.

More than 13 Republicans voted against Jordan along with every House Democrat so far. Voting is still ongoing.

Other names nominated by Republicans on the House floor have been interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

At least one Republican so far who has voted for Jordan in the previous rounds now flipped to vote against him.

With the current absences on both sides of the aisle, Jordan could only afford to lose five GOP votes to still win.

Jordan lost two previous House-wide votes for speaker earlier this week. He fell 17 votes short of a 217-majority threshold on Tuesday and 18 votes short the day after.

It’s not clear now what his path forward to victory is. But Jordan allies have suggested keeping House lawmakers in Washington through the weekend for marathon rounds of votes until Jordan clinches the gavel.

The House convened on Friday for Republican Speaker nominee Jim Jordan’s third ballot attempt at ascending to the top spot in the lower chamber.

The lower chamber met quorum — the minimum number of members to operate on official business — with at least one Republican out.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., flew to Israel amid the war with Hamas on a fact-finding mission as the House continues to search for a new speaker.

His absence leaves Jordan with new numbers to work with ahead of his third push to take the speaker’s gavel.

Several members of the House Republican conference vote for speaker candidates other than the GOP nominee, meaning Jordan has to flip several members of his party if he hopes to grab the gavel.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of N.Y., reaches over to former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as the House convenes for a second day of balloting to elect a speaker, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., spoke with reporters briefly before the expected third round vote to elect Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as speaker.

“House Democrats have repeatedly made clear we want to find a bipartisan path forward leader to serve at every step of the way. Republicans have rejected bipartisanship and embrace extremism,” Jeffries told reporters.

He said Jordan was “a clear and present danger to our democracy.”

As he has in previous days, Jeffries did not rule out a compromise to choose another Republican speaker who is more palatable to Democrats – but would not name any specific candidates.

“There are still reasonable Republicans over on the other side of the aisle, as I've repeatedly said, good men and women who want the House to reopen, who want the Congress to function,” Jeffries said.

“And what we've said is we just want a House that allows for bipartisan bills that benefit the American people, not Democrats or Republicans.”

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, House Judiciary chairman and staunch ally of Donald Trump, meets with reporters about his struggle to become speaker of the House, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is forging ahead with his bid to become House speaker and suggested he intends to hold votes this weekend if he does not win on Friday.

Jordan's office announced a Friday morning press conference late on Thursday night.

House lawmakers are expected to hold a third round speaker vote later Friday morning after Jordan failed to clinch a majority of the chamber in two rounds of voting this week.

"Our plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected to the House of Representatives soon as possible, so we can help the American people," Jordan told reporters.

Jordan called on Congress to "get to work" and cited the crisis in the Middle East as well as the looming government funding deadline on Nov. 17.

"We've got important work to do, important work to do. We need to help Israel. We need to get the appropriations process moving so that the key elements of our government are funded and funded in the right way, particularly our military," Jordan said.

The GOP bomb-thrower fell 17 votes short of a 217-threshold majority on Tuesday, and then 18 votes short on Wednesday.

Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican Speaker designee, holds a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on October 20, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, in an early-morning press conference, says he is staying in the speaker race, and told reporters the House needs to get back to work -- with a third speaker vote expected Friday as he forges ahead with his speaker bid.

Jordan spoke after he lost the first two rounds of ballots earlier this week, failing to gain the 217 votes needed to pick up the gavel. He could afford four Republican defections, but had significantly more than that, falling well short of the 217 needed.

On Friday, Jordan said the American people are "looking for House Republicans to lead and make change on these important issues."

"We've got important work to do," he said.

But Jordan said his solution is to get enough votes through the weekend to become House Speaker.

"In short we need to get to work for the American people. We cant do that if the House isn’t open and we can’t open the House until we get a speaker," he said.

It is possible there could be multiple speaker votes today, and event votes tomorrow and Sunday if Jordan decides he wants to try to grind this out, potentially in hopes of wearing out the opposition.

Rep. Warren Davidson, a key Jordan ally, tweeted last night, “We’ve heard from our colleagues and the American people. Additional votes are expected through the weekend."

Asked about the potential of multiple votes today, and votes Saturday and Sunday, a source familiar with planning told Fox News, "everything is on the table." 

Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

Rep. Jim Jordan talks to reporters after emerging from a meeting with some of the House Republican holdouts at the Rayburn House Office Building on October 19, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced after a turbulent Thursday that he would hold an 8 am ET press conference Friday to discuss the Republican plan to elect a House Speaker.

Jordan has consistently said he is not backing out of the Speaker’s race. But, his opposition is mounting.

Jordan lost 20 votes during Tuesday’s roll call. He then lost 22 votes on Wednesday. Fox is told that Jordan would lose even more votes if the House takes a ballot for Speaker on Friday. 

One GOP source characterized this as an “escalatory strategy.” 

The House is currently scheduled to convene at 10 am ET. And the plan — for now — is to have a quorum call and then a third vote for Speaker around 11 am ET.

The expected plan could change with Jordan’s early bird press conference.

Consider the wild whiplash of Thursday:

It was thought the House might take a midday vote. Then Jordan said he would remain a candidate for Speaker but hold off on going to the floor again. He would endorse a plan by Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) to temporarily grant Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) more power so the House could return to functionality.

But hours later, Jordan reversed himself, insisting there would be an evening floor vote for Speaker.

However, plans for that were dashed as the House adjourned, teeing up a potential vote for Speaker for Friday. The legislative body could proceed with votes over the weekend, pending Friday's developments.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., made an appearance on Fox & Friends, where he urged House Republicans to elect a new Speaker. Fox News

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., urged House Republicans to unite together and elect a new Speaker as the legislative body has spent more than two weeks without a House-elected member holding the gavel.

During an appearance on Fox & Friends, Cotton expressed his “deep regrets” that a “small minority” among House Republicans mounted a successful effort to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy as Speaker.

“I hope the House comes together soon and elects a Speaker so we can get back to doing the people’s business in addressing all these crises overseas and address issues like inflation and crime here at home,” Cotton said. 

When asked about a potential third vote to elect a Speaker, Cotton added: “I just hope they work their differences out among themselves and get back as quickly as possible to do the people’s business.”

A third vote to elect a speaker is expected after Rep. Jim Jordan, the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and the Republican nominee for Speaker, holds a press conference Friday morning. 

Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, is expected to hold a news conference at 8 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 20, the House Judiciary Committee announced. It will be held at the Rayburn House Office Building. 

Jordan, the Chair of the Committee, has said he is continuing to pursue his bid for speaker.

The address is expected to provide an update on the House speaker race, after GOP leadership canceled a third vote on Thursday. Jordan received the most of any Republican candidates but failed to gain a majority.

Jordan has reportedly expressed support for temporarily granting additional powers to Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who is currently the speaker pro tempore.

Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican nominee for speaker, spent much of Thursday talking with Republican holdouts following a second failed vote to win the speakership.

House Republicans huddled behind closed doors for nearly four hours earlier in the day after plans for an afternoon vote. Jordan, R-Ohio, said a third vote would not be held on Thursday and instead expressed support for a plan to remain the nominee for speaker while granting additional powers to Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who is currently the speaker pro tempore.

The proposal for an interim speaker was not well received among many Republicans, Fox News reported.

Jordan, R-Ohio, also met in private with several colleagues Thursday afternoon, many of whom said they had not changed their minds about his speaker bid.

Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., told reporters that the meeting wasn't about changing the minds of the holdouts, but about changing Jordan's mind.

“He failed his moment of leadership when he failed Steve Scalise and that was pretty much everyone’s opinion," Rutherford said.

Following the conversation with holdouts, Jordan said "it was a good discussion."

Fox News' Thomas Phippen contributed reporting.