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US Congressman Jim Jordan loses first House speaker vote

US Congressman Jim Jordan loses first House speaker vote

Jim Jordan, pictured at the US Capitol on Oct 13, 2023, has voiced confidence that he can win 217 votes in the House. (Photo: AFP/Julia Nikhinson)

WASHINGTON: Combative right-wing Republican Jim Jordan failed to win a first vote on Tuesday (Oct 17) to serve as speaker of the US House of Representatives, but more votes were expected to follow that could wear down his opponents.

The Ohio lawmaker backed by former President Donald Trump won 200 votes, short of the 217 needed to win the job, as 20 of his fellow Republican voted against him. All 212 Democrats voted for their leader, Hakeem Jeffries.

The loss means that for now the House remains leaderless, as it has been since a handful of Republican hardliners engineered Kevin McCarthy's ouster as speaker two weeks ago. That has left Congress unable to respond to wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, with just a month to go before the US government faces another partial shutdown deadline.

Jordan's office said another vote was expected on Tuesday. It was not clear whether he would pick up more support or see his opposition grow. McCarthy never got less than 200 votes in 15 rounds over four days in January.

"Even Pope Francis, it took him five ballots to get elected," said Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis. "So
let's just see how the rest of the day goes."

If Jordan prevails, a conservative who has spent years fighting with leaders of his own party could end up in one of the most powerful jobs in Washington, putting him second in line for the presidency behind the vice president.

Republicans did not nominate another candidate, but that did not stop his opponents from voting for someone else. Many of them are moderates who represent politically competitive districts, while others specialise in negotiating the complex spending bills that keep the US government running, deals that typically require a willingness to compromise.

Seven Republicans voted for Steve Scalise, the Number 2 House Republican whose own bid for speaker fell apart last week, and six voted for McCarthy. Three Republicans voted for Lee Zeldin, who retired from Congress in January, while Republican Representatives Tom Cole, Tom Emmer, Thomas Massie and Mike Garcia got one vote each.

McCarthy and Scalise both voted for Jordan.

Four Republicans from the New York City area said they voted against Jordan because he opposed benefits for survivors of the Sep 11, 2001, attacks, as well as tax policies and disaster aid that would help their residents.

Others have objected to high-pressure tactics by conservatives to get them to fall in line. "I will not be pressured or intimidated," said Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, who voted for Scalise.

NARROW MARGIN

Republicans control the House by a narrow 221-212 margin, giving them little room for error on divisive votes like this one.

After the vote, Jordan spent time talking with lawmakers who had voted against him on the House floor.

New Republican challengers could emerge if Jordan does not pick up support, including Emmer, the Number 3 House Republican, and Patrick McHenry, who is temporarily filling the speaker's chair. Jeffries, the Democratic leader, has called for a bipartisan compromise.

Jordan's supporters say he would be an effective advocate for spending cuts and other Republican priorities in
negotiations with Democratic President Joe Biden and the Senate, which is also controlled by Democrats.

"He is a patriot, an America First warrior who wins the toughest of fights," Republican Representative Elise Stefanik said as she nominated Jordan for speaker on the House floor.

Democrats have painted him as an extremist who would take orders from Trump. Jordan was a "significant player" in efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 election defeat, a congressional investigation found.

Democratic Representative Pete Aguilar said on the House floor that Jordan's election would show the US enemies that "the very people who seek to undermine democracy are rewarded with positions of immense power. We are talking about someone who has spent their entire career trying to hold our country back."

A fixture on conservative media outlets, Jordan has used his perch as chair of the House Judiciary Committee to help lead an impeachment inquiry into Biden that Democrats decry as baseless.

He helped found the House Freedom Caucus, which then-Speaker John Boehner dubbed "legislative terrorists" before members of that group pressured him to retire. Jordan was an architect of government shutdowns in 2013 and 2018.

Jordan had a more productive relationship with McCarthy, who was forced out by a small group of Republican insurgents.

Before entering politics, Jordan served as a wrestling coach at Ohio State University. Former students in 2018 accused him of turning a blind eye to sexual abuse of college wrestlers by the wrestling team's doctor. He denied those allegations and a university investigation found no hard evidence that he knew of the abuse.
Source: Reuters/fs/ec

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