Jordan out of speaker race; as new candidates line up, GOP ‘in a very bad position,’ McCarthy warns
LA TimesOhio Rep. Jim Jordan ended his campaign for speaker Friday after he failed for the third time to secure a majority on the House floor and his Republican colleagues voted, by secret ballot, that he should not press on. Both Jordan, the chair of the powerful House Judiciary Committee and former President Trump’s pick for speaker, and Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, long the House’s second-ranking Republican, have already failed to secure the post. Jordan’s Friday vote total of 194 was a new modern low for a majority party’s nominee for speaker, as Democrats again voted unanimously for their nominee, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. After Jordan’s third loss Friday, seven of the Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy — Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Andy Biggs and Eli Crane of Arizona, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Bob Good of Virginia, Matthew M. Rosendale of Montana and Nancy Mace of South Carolina — circulated a letter to their colleagues saying they would compromise for the good of the conference. “It’s as swampy as swamp gets, and Jim Jordan deserved better than that.” If no Republican candidate for speaker can secure a majority of the House, lawmakers could vote to empower temporary Speaker Patrick T. McHenry, who has led the chamber in a mostly ceremonial role since McCarthy’s ouster, to advance legislation, including new aid for Israel and Ukraine or even a government funding bill.