Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday dropped Jim Jordan as House Speaker nominee, putting them back at square one 17 days after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster.
Congress in limbo since hard-liners ousted fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy
Republicans dropped Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday as their nominee for U.S. House Speaker, making the decision during a closed-door session after the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump failed badly on a third ballot for the gavel.
With the blocked House impasse deepening, Republicans have no realistic or workable plan to unite the fractured party’s majority, elect a new Speaker and return to the work of Congress that has been languishing since hard-liners ousted Kevin McCarthy at the start of the month.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise said they’re going “come back and start over” on Monday.
In all, Jordan lost 25 Republican colleagues in Friday’s vote, leaving him far from the majority needed, with next steps uncertain.
Ahead of the vote, Jordan showed no signs of stepping aside, insisting at a Capitol press conference: “The American people are hungry for change.”