Is there a new speaker of the House yet? Republicans brace for infighting ahead of crucial vote
WASHINGTON – The country is marking two weeks without a speaker of the House, but that could end Tuesday when House Republicans hold a vote to elect a new leader.
Maybe.
House Republicans formally nominated the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to the speakership. But Jordan's chances of earning 217 votes – the magic number needed to become speaker – are unclear.
Regardless, the House is slated to hold a speaker election at noon on Tuesday, which could be reminiscent of January, when former speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., had to endure 15 ballots of voting to finally be elected speaker.
The speakership has basically remained vacant after McCarthy's historic ouster earlier this month, when just a handful of GOP lawmakers and all House Democrats voted to remove the California Republican from his post.
Since then, the House has been paralyzed, unable to take any legislative action without a speaker, even as the deadline to avoid a government shutdown approaches and lawmakers continue to call for aid to Israel, a key U.S. ally.
While Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has served as speaker pro tempore, it's not a role that has the same powers as the official speaker of the House.
Do we have a new speaker of the House yet?
No, as of Monday night, the nation doesn't have a new speaker of the House. Earlier this month, a sliver of House Republicans, led by conservative hardliner Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., voted to remove McCarthy from the speakership over what they alleged were broken promises.
The procedural move to remove McCarthy, called a motion to vacate, constantly loomed over the California Republican from the start of his speakership. In his pursuit of the gavel, McCarthy changed House rules to allow just one lawmaker to initiate the move to remove him, a key concession to hard-right Republicans,
In September, when a government shutdown loomed over the country and House Republicans failed to find any consensus on a short-term bill to avert a shutdown, Gaetz committed to filing a motion to vacate if McCarthy worked with Democrats to avoid a shutdown.
As a shutdown looked all but certain, McCarthy ultimately put forth a bipartisan stopgap bill on the House floor to fund the government just hours before a shutdown would have started. Days after the shutdown was averted, Gaetz filed a motion to vacate, and his efforts to oust McCarthy succeeded, putting the House in the frozen state seen today.
Who is Jim Jordan?
Jordan entered the House in 2007 as a conservative bomb-thrower who was a thorn in the sides of GOP leadership. The Ohio Republican is a founding member of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, a key faction of House Republicans that haunted McCarthy and forced him to placate to the right flank of his conference throughout his speakership.
Jordan served as the Freedom Caucus’ first chair and remains a member today. However, he's now considered to be a close ally of Republican leadership, having backed McCarthy during his pursuit of the speakership back in January.
As chair of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, Jordan is also one of few GOP lawmakers spearheading House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Jordan is a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump and voted against certifying Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
Does Jim Jordan have any challengers?
Jordan last week defeated Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., for the GOP speaker nomination. Scott made a surprise entrance into the speaker’s race as an anti-Jordan alternative.
But Jordan's nomination isn't binding for Republican lawmakers. It's just a formal endorsement, and as they head to the House for an official vote, they're allowed to nominate other candidates. They can also switch their votes if they previously supported Jordan but changed their minds.
Democratic lawmakers are not expected to lend their support to Jordan, or any other Republican candidate. They'll likely support a Democratic pick, such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who won't garner any GOP support either.
Jeffries on Sunday warned during an interview with "Meet the Press" that Democrats "have not identified any candidate on the other side of the aisle," they would support in a speaker vote.