Jim Jordan is no longer the House Republicans' choice for speaker, leaving them at a loss and starting over

 Jim Jordan is no longer the House Republicans' choice for speaker, leaving them at a loss and starting over

The conclusion left Republicans disappointed, irritated, and more divided; another week without a House speaker was on the verge of becoming a catastrophe.

Rep. Jim Jordan was unceremoniously dismissed by Republicans as their choice for House speaker on Friday. The decision was made behind closed doors after the hard-line Trump loyalist suffered a crushing defeat on the third vote.

The conclusion left Republicans feeling defeated, irritated, and more in disarray; another week without a House speaker was on the verge of becoming a catastrophe. In order to elect a new speaker and resume the work of Congress, which has been put on hold since hardliners removed Kevin McCarthy at the beginning of the month, House Republicans need a realistic and practical strategy.

When asked about his colleagues thereafter, Mr. Jordan simply said, "We put the question to them, they made a different decision."

The tenacious chairman of the Judiciary Committee said that House Republicans must now band together to "figure out who our speaker is going to be."

Republicans departed the secret meeting, their majority power in tatters, blaming one another for the rifts they had wrought. The course of action was quite unknown as some Republican legislators began to declare their candidacy for speaker.

However, it now looks like no one can secure a GOP majority, leaving the House without a speaker and unable to conduct business for the foreseeable future. This is a humiliating setback for a crucial American seat of government.

"We're in a very bad place right now," McCarthy said.

Steve Scalise, the majority leader, said that they will "start over" on Monday. For a candidate forum and internal party elections, fresh candidates must step forward.

Rep. Mark Alford, a rookie from Missouri, was far from the only one to voice frustration and indignation at the lack of simple answers.

"I gave up my career to come here to do anything for America, to rebuild the army, to get spending under control, to secure our border and then here we are in this quicksand," he said.

Jordan lost 25 Republican colleagues in a floor vote on Friday morning, his third time using the gavel, which was worse than how he had performed earlier in the week and well short of the required majority.

The fact that many moderate Republicans are rebelling over the candidate they see as being too radical and the hardball methods being used to secure their support is a major factor in why Jordan, a founder of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, saw his campaign for president effectively implode. They have received several obnoxious phone calls, including alleged threats of murder.

Jordan had counted on support from Trump, the party's front-runner for the 2024 race, and organizations lobbying rank-and-file members for the vote in order to win over GOP colleagues. However, they fell short and even had some unintended consequences.

With two absentees on each side, the vote on Friday was 194 for Jordan, his lowest total to date, and 210 for Jeffries.

Despite spending hours attempting to convince holdouts to vote for him, Jordan actually lost more votes than he received, showing little progress from the 20 and 22 Republicans he lost in the first round of voting this week.

McCarthy stood up in the chamber and proposed Jordan, praising him as a capable lawmaker who strives for consensus. The Democratic side of the aisle laughed mockingly at it.

Representative Katherine Clark, who nominated Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, referred to Jordan's refusal to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election as "a threat to democracy."

The U.S. House has been shut down for more than two weeks due to the impasse, substantially impeding a large portion of the government at a time of domestic and international difficulties. Republicans seem to be at a loss for how to put an end to the political turbulence and resume business, even as Democrats have volunteered to mediate a bipartisan agreement to reopen the House.

Republicans now have a 221-212 majority in the House, meaning that any candidate can only lose a small number of supporters. It seems that no Republican can now get the 217 votes necessary for a decisive majority and become speaker.

One extraordinary suggestion to give Rep. Patrick McHenry, the interim speaker pro tempore, more authority to at least call the House back into session and conduct important business for the ensuing months was swiftly shot down by Jordan's own ultra-conservative allies and brushed aside by McHenry himself.

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., called it a "betrayal."

Until the deadline for Congress to approve financing or risk a government shutdown in mid-November, Republicans expect that the House may effectively remain shut down.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, a seasoned lawmaker, said, "We're trying to figure out if there's a way we can get back with a Republican-only solution."

Majorities often behave in this way. This majority has shown that it is not a typical majority.

The fact that it's not at all obvious what the House Republicans are even arguing over any more, much alone whether any GOP leader can repair it, may be even more troubling.

Angry grudges, new divisions, and untested friendships have resulted from the Republican pandemonium that broke out on October 3 when a tiny group of eight hardliners headed by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida organized McCarthy's historic expulsion.

Gaetz and the hardliners intended to get revenge on McCarthy for a variety of alleged transgressions, including working with Democrats to approve legislation that kept the government funded and averted a government shutdown.

But when McCarthy's replacement, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, won the nomination, Jordan's friends disregarded party rules and obstructed the Louisianan's ascent. Scalise quickly withdrew his name for the position.

More moderate Republicans mounted their own mutiny against hard-liner Jordan, claiming that he didn't deserve to hold the gavel because they were upset that Scalise didn't appear to get fair treatment.

Republicans have strayed far from the principles of expenditure reduction and other objectives that had been announced by their House majority after weeks of tense, acrimonious sessions.

President Joe Biden's assistance package for Israel, Ukraine, and other needs is being considered by Congress, and Democratic Leader Jeffries reaffirmed that his party was "ready, willing, and able" to engage with more conventional Republicans on a road to reopen the House.

Jordan has been a key friend of President Trump, especially during the assault on the Capitol on January 6 by supporters of the outgoing leader who wanted to annul the 2020 election he lost to Biden. Jordan received a Medal of Freedom from Trump a few days later.

Jordan was first elected in 2006, although he has not passed many measures throughout his tenure. Questions concerning his history are also raised.

Jordan once refuted charges made by former wrestlers during his tenure as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University that he was aware of their complaints that an Ohio State doctor had improperly touched them. According to Jordan, he was never made aware of any mistreatment.