Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has nominated Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to be House Speaker before the second round of voting.
The move comes as House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) struggles to get the votes to win the speakership.
Jordan may not take it this round but it looks like McCarthy won’t have the votes to cross the finish line.
So in a third round of voting, the GOP may agree on a compromise.
However, Jordan has said he doesn’t want the role and he even nominated McCarthy to become the next speaker in a bid to persuade the holdouts.
McCarthy was unable to secure enough votes in the first vote as 19 GOP representatives voted against him.
He has already lost 8 which means he will lose again.
The first vote was 203 for McCarthy, 212 for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), 10 for Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), six for Rep Jim Jordan (R-OH), one for Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), one for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), and one for former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY).
The second vote is going against McCarthy and Jim Jordan is expected to get 19 votes.
Today I’m nominating JIM JORDAN for Speaker of the House! pic.twitter.com/XErQ33qyxB
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 3, 2023
According to The Hill:
McCarthy has faced weeks of opposition from hardline conservatives including Biggs, Reps. Bob Good (Va.), Matt Rosendale (Mont.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), and Ralph Norman (S.C.), who had been known as a “Never Kevin” group.
They said McCarthy’s resistance to rules changes, involvement in primaries and leadership history — among other issues — meant they could not support him for Speaker.
Over the weekend, McCarthy offered some late concessions to those withholding support for him including allowing a move to “vacate the chair” — a move to force a vote on ousting the Speaker — with the approval of five Republican members, rather than a threshold of at least half of the House GOP Conference.
But that did little to sway his critics, as nine House Republicans — which did not include the “Never Kevin” five — signaled in a Sunday letter.
Matt Gaetz on fire making his case for Jim Jordan as Speaker of the House… pic.twitter.com/IchItUIR6P
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 3, 2023
