House Republicans search for new speaker after dumping Jim Jordan

Republican lawmakers have chosen to drop Rep. Jim Jordan as their nominee for speaker of the House of Representatives after his bid for the role failed for a third time.

This decision has left the GOP in search of a new candidate for the position, and it's uncertain whether any Republican will be able to secure the necessary votes to become the speaker, as CNBC News reported.

The House has remained without a leader for over two weeks, and there is currently no clear resolution in sight.

Why the Hurry

This situation adds urgency to Congress, which faces a looming deadline to avoid a government shutdown, while the White House is pressing for immediate security assistance for Israel.

Despite his repeated failures to secure the gavel, Jordan remained determined to stay in the race. However, his support dwindled with each successive House vote.

On Friday, 25 Republicans voted against Jordan, even though he had the support of former President Donald Trump. In the prior vote, 22 Republicans had opposed him.

Following Jordan's failure on the House floor, Republicans gathered behind closed doors to reassess his nomination, leading to a vote of no confidence in the congressman.

The GOP headed into the weekend without a clear nominee for speaker. Lawmakers are set to reconvene on Monday for a candidate forum at 6:30 p.m., followed by a GOP conference vote at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. The hope is to hold a floor vote on the same day, according to interim Speaker Patrick McHenry (R-NC).

New Candidates

With Jordan no longer in the running, several Republicans have either declared their candidacy or expressed their interest in the role of speaker.

As of Friday afternoon, the list included Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan, Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas, Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, and Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania.

Before losing the nomination, Jordan had hoped to keep pushing his campaign over the weekend.

He cited the 15 rounds of voting it took for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to secure the gavel and expressed a desire to get a new speaker elected as soon as possible to address the needs of the American people.

During Friday's proceedings, McCarthy formally nominated Jordan, drawing laughter from lawmakers as he addressed the chamber.