House in limbo as Jordan continues speaker bid despite stiff GOP resistance

Originally Published: 19 OCT 23 05:00 ET Updated: 19 OCT 23 10:31 ET By Clare Foran and Haley Talbot, CNN

(CNN) — The House remains paralyzed with no end in sight to the Republican leadership crisis as Rep. Jim Jordan continues his bid for speaker despite facing stiff resistance.

The Ohio Republican, who has made a name for himself as a hardline conservative agitator, has so far vowed to stay in the race despite two failed votes for the gavel. The House could hold a third vote for speaker as soon as Thursday afternoon and Jordan told reporters there would be a vote Thursday, though nothing has been officially scheduled.

The House GOP conference will meet at 11 a.m. ET behind close doors to discuss next steps, Jordan told reporters.

Multiple GOP sources told CNN that Jordan is bleeding votes and is poised to lose even more Republicans if he goes through with a third ballot. One GOP opponent says there are about 30 GOP no votes as of Thursday morning.

Tensions are rising among House Republicans as pressure grows to find a way to resolve the standoff. In a sign of growing opposition to his candidacy, Jordan fared worse in a second round of voting on Wednesday than he had in the first vote a day earlier.

Rep. Warren Davidson, a close ally of Jordan’s and fellow Ohio Republican, told reporters Thursday morning that the GOP conference needs more time to heal following the historic ousting of then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy more than two weeks ago. At the time, eight House Republicans – as well as the entirety of the present and voting Democratic caucus – were able to force out McCarthy in a historic move, known as the motion to vacate the chair.

“So it’s all these things about the past,” Davidson said. “It’s not actual objections to Jim Jordan being speaker. So I really do feel like we have to find a way to heal, and sometimes it takes time to heal.”

But some of Jordan’s opponents say his supporters are doing little to tamp down tensions and in some cases making it worse. After Wednesday’s failed speaker vote, a number of Republicans who oppose Jordan expressed outrage over what they described as a pressure campaign against them by Jordan allies – and made clear they won’t be swayed. Several Republicans who opposed Jordan said they are experiencing angry calls, menacing messages and even death threats since casting their votes. Jordan on Wednesday condemned the death threats, saying “it’s just wrong.”

The House remains effectively frozen as Republicans have failed to coalesce around a viable alternative to Kevin McCarthy after the former speaker was ousted in a historic vote by a group of conservative hardliners.

Now, more moderate and mainstream Republicans are the ones digging in, with some concerned over the prospect of a conservative firebrand like Jordan as speaker and others angry over the role hardliners played in pushing out McCarthy and then opposing House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s bid for speaker.

As it increasingly looks uncertain that any candidate can secure the 217 votes to win the gavel, some Republicans have been pushing to expand the powers of the interim speaker, GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. But such a move would be controversial and has divided Republicans.

During the first round of voting, 20 House Republicans voted against Jordan. In the second round, that number rose to 22. There were four new Republican votes against Jordan and two that flipped into his column.

Given the narrow House GOP majority, Jordan can only afford to lose a handful of votes and the high number of votes against him so far puts the gavel far out of reach for now.

If Jordan withdraws, then other candidates could jump into the race. Among those considering a run: Reps. Jodey Arrington of Texas, Jack Bergman of Michigan and Mike Johnson of Louisiana, according to GOP sources. But they would all struggle to get to 217 votes.

Jordan is a polarizing figure in the speaker’s fight. He is a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, and helped found the hardline House Freedom Caucus. As the chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, he has also been a key figure in House GOP-led investigations.

His struggle to win the gavel has highlighted the limits of Trump’s influence in the speaker’s race after the former president endorsed Jordan.

It took McCarthy 15 rounds of voting in January to secure the gavel.

Some Republicans, however, have argued that given the unprecedented situation the House is now in without a speaker the current race should not go on for that long.

A fast-approaching government shutdown deadline and conflict unfolding abroad has also fueled calls for Republicans to bring an end to the leadership vacuum as soon as possible.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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