Republicans drop Trump ally Jim Jordan as speaker nominee
October 20, 2023
US conservative member of the House of Representatives Jim Jordan lost a secret ballot on Friday to remain the Republican nominee for speaker.
Jordan was defeated by 25 colleagues from his own party who joined every Democrat to vote down his bid for speaker for the third time in four days — despite Jordan having the support of former President Trump.
"We need to come together and figure out who our speaker is going to be," Jordan told reporters after the meeting.
"I'm going to work as hard as I can to help that individual so that we can go help the American people. And I'm also going to get back to work."
Republicans will start the process over on Monday, House majority leader Steve Scalise said.
17 days of chaos
Following a rebellion by a small faction of Republican right-wingers, Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker — but no candidate has mustered the necessary votes as his replacement in the 17 days since.
The failure to elect Jordan as speaker deepens the divisions within the Republican party and extends the paralysis of Congress at a critical time.
On Friday, President Biden requested a miltary package for Ukraine and Israel totaling $106 billion (€100 million) — but nothing can pass until a speaker is elected.
"We're in a very bad place right now," McCarthy admitted after the latest setback.
mds/zc/jcg (AP, AFP, Reuters)