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Rep. Jim Jordan ran into more trouble Wednesday in his bid to become the next speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, with the number of fellow Republicans voting against the Ohio congressman rising to 22 in a second ballot, up from 20 a day earlier.
The House went into recess after the second ballot, and Jordan later told CNN that he expected a third round of voting to occur around noon Eastern Thursday.
Jordan — an ally of former President Donald Trump and co-founder of the hardline House Freedom Caucus — can only afford to have four GOP lawmakers vote against him to become speaker, as no Democrats have been supporting him. He needs a simple majority, or 217 votes, in the narrowly divided House, which has 221 Republicans and 212 Democrats.
Ahead of the second ballot, one Jordan supporter, GOP Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, said he expected fewer votes for his candidate than Tuesday and called for allies to “stay strong.”
“This is the fight — which Jim Jordan represents — to end the status quo, and it ain’t easy,” said Perry, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, in a post on X.
Meanwhile, one House Republican opposing Jordan, Rep. Kay Granger, said she cast a “vote of conscience” and “stayed true to my principles.”
“Intimidation and threats will not change my position,” added the Texas congresswoman, who voted for Steve Scalise, the House majority leader.
With the House looking rudderless, the chamber’s temporary speaker, GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, is facing calls to take on the job more permanently, such as from the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board.
Republican Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio was expected to introduce a resolution on Wednesday that would expand the interim speaker’s powers.
Read more: Betting markets see Patrick McHenry as increasingly likely to get the speaker job permanently
Analysts have warned that the process of picking a leader is preventing the Republican-run House from addressing crucial matters, such as avoiding a government shutdown next month and supporting Israel. It now has been more than two weeks since the historic ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who needed 15 rounds of voting in January to secure the position.
U.S. stocks
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closed with losses Wednesday, as Treasury yields remained near 16-year highs and traders assessed the violence in the Mideast.
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