Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, once again fell short of the 217 votes needed to secure a seat as the House speaker.
Of the 221 Republican votes, 199 of them were for Rep. Jordan, while the other 22 went for other various candidates. Among the 22 votes going to other Republican candidates, seven were in support of Scalise, with five for McCarthy, and the remaining scattered throughout. They are scheduled to vote again today.
While the Republicans cannot seem to get on the same page, all of the Democrats voted for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y for speaker. Six Republican representatives changed their votes from the previous day’s vote. Four of them, who had previously supported Jordan, shifted their allegiance to other candidates, while two representatives, who had not previously supported Jordan, voted in his favor.
The two Republican representatives who switched to support Jordan during the second ballot are, California Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who had initially supported former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and your Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz, who voted for Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. on the first ballot.
It has now been two weeks since the House had a speaker. The removal of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy divided the party. Some were excited about his removal, while others questioned what the plan was. It is becoming more and more apparent that the Republicans who removed McCarthy, did not have a plan for post his removal.
To hear Tony Katz’s thoughts on the Republicans’ inability to elect a new speaker, click the link below.
