Updated Oct 19, 2023 - Politics & Policy

Jim Jordan unpauses House speaker bid after escape hatch erupts

After a contentious closed-door meeting on Thursday, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) plans to hold a third speaker vote on Friday morning, setting up another ballot where he's expected to lose.

Why it matters: Jordan lost support between the first and second speaker votes, and Republicans and Democrats signaled they were prepared to make a push to empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry. But the plan met fierce backlash.

Jordan initially planned to pause his speaker bid while backing the plan to temporarily empower McHenry.
But conservatives pushed back on the plan to create a bipartisan coalition.
On that list was House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who said publicly on Thursday: "[W]e should never allow a Democrat-backed coalition government. Ever. The only coalition we should be looking to build is a Republican coalition uniting all of our conference."

Zoom out: McHenry has said he won't act on legislation in his current position, so a bipartisan group of House lawmakers wants to temporarily empower him to pass legislation.

Government funding runs out in less than a month, and many in Congress are anxious to pass legislation on aid for Israel and Ukraine.

The bottom line: Two GOP speaker nominees have failed in recent days, and the outlook is dim for a candidate who can unite the fractured conference.

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Jim Jordan unpauses House speaker bid after escape hatch erupts

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