Jim Jordan is the chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee. (File)
Washington:
US lawmakers on Wednesday rejected hardline conservative Jim Jordan’s bid for speaker of the US House of Representatives for a second time, as the leadership vacuum crippling Washington enters its 15th day with no clear solution in sight.
The House of Congress has been in a tailspin since Republican Chairman Kevin McCarthy was ousted by his party’s far right on October 3 – unable to deal with a looming government shutdown or war in the Middle East.
Jim Jordan, a supporter of the scandal-ridden Donald Trump, could afford to lose only four Republicans, but 22 of his colleagues rejected his candidacy on the second ballot – two more than opposed him a day earlier.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas, a renewed push for aid to Ukraine and the threat of a government shutdown have dramatically raised the stakes, with Republican aides hoping the urgent need for a congressional response would unite the fractured party.
But Jordan’s centrist colleagues, already wary of his far-right politics, expressed irritation at a concerted effort to score additional votes for the 59-year-old former wrestling champion.
“Every day that passes without a speaker of the House of Representatives is a threat to national security,” said David Valadao, a Jordan supporter and California Republican.
“I voted for the Republican Conference nominee for speaker because we have to get back to work, and we can’t do that until we have a speaker.”
Jordan’s second defeat exacerbated growing fears around the speaker’s race and disarray within the Republican Party, with no immediate plans for a third round of voting and many — including Valadao — pushing to expand the limited powers of the largely ceremonial interim speaker.
No clear alternative
Jim Jordan, the chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee, is expected to make significant progress as he takes the fight to the third round, but the holdouts appear to be dug in.
His Republican opponents met after voting against him for the first time on Tuesday and almost all reaffirmed their objections, with some predicting that Jordan would only gain more support.
The Ohio lawmaker has little of the goodwill among the grassroots that McCarthy spent years cultivating, and it is unlikely they would consign him to the 15 ballots it took to get his predecessor elected.
Party strategists worry that a Jordan backslide could herald days of further deadlock as there is no clear alternative with the support and profile to rally a party that has become synonymous with division and dysfunction.
“And why would you run for mayor of a city that was just destroyed?” asked online political outlet Punchbowl News.
There is momentum behind an effort to formally appoint interim Speaker Patrick McHenry for a limited period of perhaps a few months — expanding his purely ceremonial powers so he can bring legislation to the table.
“After two weeks without a Speaker of the House of Representatives and without a clear candidate with 217 votes in the Republican conference, it is time to look at other viable options,” Ohio Congressman Dave Joyce said in a statement published by the political newspaper The Hill .
“By appointing Patrick McHenry as Chairman Pro Tempore, we can care for our ally Israel until a new chairman is elected.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
