When will the House of Representatives put a new speaker in place and get back to doing what its members were elected to do, pass laws?
Not today.
After Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan said he would not seek a third vote on Thursday after two failed votes in the previous two days kept him from the speakership, acting House Speaker Patrick McHenry on Thursday immediately gaveled the House into recess.
Jordan backed fellow Ohio Republican Rep. Dave Joyce's plan to empower McHenry until Jan. 3. Joyce said that "if anything, it buys [Jordan] more time to do what he needs to do in private” to win over enough Republicans to get him to the needed 217 vote threshold.
Then Jordan changed his mind: ""I'm still running for speaker. I plan to go to the floor and get the votes."
Conservatives slammed the move to temporarily empower McHenry.
Political scientist and author Dr. Carol Swain asked on LinkedIn: "Do you want to know what I think" about the fight in Congress over the speaker vote? She noted:
It's no longer about Jim Jordan. It's all about Donald Trump and Donald Trump's endorsement of Jim Jordan. Don't allow the jokers in the Congess to fool you. Those Republican holdouts are people who are anti-Trump. They're probably Never-Trumpers. It's not about Jim Jordan, it's about them.
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who initiated the move to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, said he would do “everything” to block Joyce's power-for-McHenry plan. Gaetz argued on Thursday that it amounted to "twisting and torturing the Constitution to empower a temporary speaker.”Republican Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania also slammed the proposal to empower McHenry and indicated that conservatives would oppose it in large numbers.
"This is the biggest F.U. to Republican voters I’ve ever seen," Banks said.
Jordan’s supporters have acknowledged that his opponents seem determined and have the numbers to keep him out of the speakership.
“If you look at the mix of who is voting against him now, it’s more the senior members. And they’re just resolved and they’re not going to take that,” said Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, who backs Jordan but has flirted with throwing his hat in the ring if Jordan withdraws.
Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Dan Meuser said Thursday that he would consider running for speaker. All the potential alternative contenders are reportedly waiting on Jordan before they make public moves.
Jim Jordan isn't going down without a fight: "I'm still running for speaker. I plan to go to the floor and get the votes." pic.twitter.com/WjZsM4w55z
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) October 19, 2023
Good morning ☀️ I am praying for Jim Jordan and the speaker’s race. False accusations have been leveled against him because of his investigations of the #Bidens and his stance on election integrity. We need a speaker who will fight corruption at every level and reign in spending.… pic.twitter.com/UwLLuliTUS
— Dr. Carol M. Swain (@carolmswain) October 19, 2023
Free Press International
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