House speaker vote: Jim Jordan loses second ballot

Jim Jordan House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, talks to reporters as he heads from his office in the Rayburn House Office Building to the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 18, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

By Theresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

The House of Representatives held a second round of voting Wednesday to try to decide who will next take up the speaker’s gavel following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy.

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The House failed Tuesday to elect a new speaker, with the GOP’s choice — Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio — winning 200 of the 217 votes required to secure the speakership. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who was nominated by Democrats, got all 212 votes from his party members.

[ House speaker vote: Jim Jordan falls short; next vote is Wednesday ]

No third vote for speaker planned Wednesday, Jordan says

Update 4 p.m. EDT Oct. 18: Jordan told reporters that there will not be another vote held Wednesday to try to pick the next speaker of the House, according to CNN and NBC News.

Jordan plans to stay in race; unclear when next vote will be held

Update 1:45 p.m. EDT Oct. 18: Jordan told reporters on Wednesday that he does not expect to drop his bid for the speakership after he lost a second ballot to elect someone to the role.

“We picked up some today, a couple dropped off, but they voted for me before I think they can come back again,” he said, according to NBC News. “So we’ll keep talking to members and keep working on it.”

Jordan lost 22 Republicans in Wednesday’s vote. On Tuesday, 20 Republicans declined to support him.

Russell Dye, a spokesperson for Jordan, told CNN, “We’re going to keep going.”

House goes into recess after second vote ends without winner

Update 1:20 p.m. EDT Oct. 18: The House went into recess on Wednesday afternoon after lawmakers failed to elect a speaker.

It was not immediately clear when the next vote would be held.

Wednesday’s vote ended with Jeffries winning 212 votes to Jordan’s 199. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., got seven votes while McCarthy, R-Calif., got five and former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., got three.

Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif.; former Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich.; Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn.; former House Speaker John Boehner; Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas; Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark.; and Rep Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; got one vote each.

Jordan, Jeffries fail to secure votes to win election

Update 1:05 p.m. EDT Oct. 18: The second vote for House speaker ended Wednesday without a winner after Jordan and Jeffries failed to secure enough support to take up the role.

The winner would have had to have won 217 votes to become the next speaker. Wednesday’s vote ended with 212 votes for Jeffries and 199 for Jordan. On Tuesday, the first vote to elect the next speaker ended with 212 votes for Jeffries and 200 for Jordan.

Twenty-two Republicans declined to vote for Jordan, who was chosen as the GOP’s nominee during a secret ballot last week. The lawmakers were:

  • Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who voted for McCarthy.
  • Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., who voted for Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.
  • Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., who voted for Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn.
  • Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., who voted for McCarthy.
  • Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., who voted for former Rep. Lee Zeldin.
  • Rep. Mario Diaz Balart, R-Fla., who voted for Scalise.
  • Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Texas, who voted for Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif.
  • Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-Ga., who voted for Scalise.
  • Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., who voted for Zeldin.
  • Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who voted for McCarthy.
  • Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who voted for Scalise.
  • Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, who voted for Scalise.
  • Rep. John James, R-Mich., who voted for former Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich.
  • Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who voted for former House Speaker John Boehner.
  • Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., who voted for McCarthy.
  • Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., who voted for Zeldin.
  • Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who voted for McCarthy.
  • Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, voted for Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas.
  • Rep. John Rutherford, R-Pa., who voted for Scalise.
  • Rep. Michael Simpson, R-Idaho, who voted for Scalise.
  • Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., who voted for Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark.
  • Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., who voted for Scalise.

Jordan loses more than 3 Republicans, unlikely to win second vote

Update 12:25 p.m. EDT Oct. 18: Jordan has lost at least eight votes, indicating that he is unlikely to win the second vote for the House speakership.

Jordan needs 217 votes to win the election. The numbers indicated that he could lose only three votes to claim victory.

Voting is ongoing.

Speaker nominee will need 217 votes to win

Update 12:18 p.m. EDT Oct. 18: With 432 members of the House of Representatives present for voting on Wednesday, the next House speaker will need to win 217 votes to take up the gavel, NBC News reported.

One person, Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., was absent Wednesday, according to NBC News.

Voting for next House speaker begins

Update 12:15 p.m. EDT Oct. 18: The House has begun to vote on who to elect as the chamber’s next speaker.

Republicans nominated Jordan while Democrats nominated Jeffries.

Jordan can lose three votes from the GOP and still win the speakership.

Aguilar nominates Jeffries for speaker

Update 12:10 p.m. EDT Oct. 18: Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., nominated the top Democrat in the House, New York’s Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, to serve as speaker of the House.

“I rise today at the direction of the House Democratic Caucus to place into nomination for the position of speaker of the House of Representatives the honorable Hakeem Jeffries of New York,” he said.

Cole nominates Jordan for speaker

Update 12 p.m. EDT Oct. 18: Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., formally nominated Jordan to serve as the next speaker of the House.

“I am very proud, very proud, to place a nomination in the name of our good friend, my good friend, our Republican candidate for speaker, the honorable Jim Jordan of Ohio,” Cole said on the House floor.

He described Jordan as “not exactly a shrinking violet.”

“It takes a spine of steel to do this job,” he said. “My friend has that kind of determination, has that kind of character, has that kind of spine.”

House reconvenes ahead of 2nd expected speakership vote

Update 11:10 a.m. EDT Oct. 18: The House has been called into order ahead of an expected vote for House speaker on Wednesday.

Original report: The House will meet again at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

On Tuesday night, the House adjourned as Jordan worked to rally more support for his speakership bid. In a social media post published after the day’s vote, he wrote, “We must stop attacking each other and come together.”

Jordan was chosen as the Republican Party’s nominee in a secret ballot Friday. One day earlier, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., dropped his bid for the speakership due to a lack of support.

The House voted 216-210 on Oct. 3 to remove McCarthy as House speaker 10 months after he secured the position. McCarthy had failed 14 times to gain enough support to take on the role before winning in the 15th round of voting.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., was named as McCarthy’s temporary replacement.