The GOP's congressional chaos deepens as Jim Jordan drops bid for speakership

Jim Jordan won't hold a third vote to become Speaker of the House.
Jordan's decision comes after he failed to gain a majority in multiple House votes.
He reportedly supports giving Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry power over the House through January 3.

Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan on Thursday put his bid to become the next Speaker of the House on hold after two failed votes illustrated that the staunch conservative lacked enough support in his own party to win the top post, according to multiple reports.

Jordan will instead support giving Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina power over the House through January 3, The New York Times reports. The Washington Post also reported that Jordan will pause his Speaker bid. He'll continue to try to build support for his speakership bid in the meantime, the Times reported.

Jordan lost ground on the second ballot on Wednesday, foreshadowing his exit. Twenty-two Republicans voted against Jordan, sending him below the 200-vote threshold that former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California always managed to surpass during his own marathon, 15-round speakership fight in January.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York was unanimously backed by the Democratic caucus, earning 212 votes.

The opposition to Jordan was far from monolithic, but several key factions lined up against him. Six of the 18 Republicans that represent districts President Joe Biden won in 2020 voted against Jordan. House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger of Texas and five GOP members on her panel voted against Jordan, a sign that his years of trying to sink spending bills have generated some hard feelings.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana was briefly the party's nominee for the speakership, but he abandoned his own campaign as it became apparent he wouldn't be able to obtain the requisite votes needed to secure the gavel.

Some lawmakers have discussed renominating McCarthy, though the eight Republicans who engineered his historic ouster from the speakership seem highly unlikely to support such a move.

An increasing number of House Republicans want to give McHenry more authority, potentially giving him powers resembling a full-fledged speaker for a limited period of time.

Earlier on Wednesday, Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota told CNN's Manu Raju that such a resolution would be a "non-starter."

But Democrats are seemingly open to a move that would temporarily empower McHenry in exchange for key legislative concessions that would essentially unfreeze the House.

Jordan will almost certainly remain chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, where he has led the GOP's efforts to impeach Biden.

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