Congressman Jim Jordan failed in his first attempt to become Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In the first round of voting, 20 Republican lawmakers did not vote for Jim Jordan, while 200 members of the same party supported him for the position of Speaker of the House. Jordan currently serves as the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, according to Reuters.
Thus, Jordan failed to secure the 217 votes needed to become Speaker of the US House of Representatives after his predecessor McCarthy was impeached in the historic vote on October 3.
Jordan received fewer votes than Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, who received 212 votes, meaning that all Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives supported him.
Speaking to the press after the vote, Jordan initially said the Republican Party would hold another vote later that evening. However, that plan was disrupted due to increased pressure and criticism from the opposition.
Instead, the US House of Representatives will reconvene at 11:00 a.m. on October 18 (local time) in an effort to continue electing a leader.
In the current context, any Republican candidate for Speaker of the House cannot afford to lose four votes.
CBS quoted Congressman Carlos Gimenez of Florida as affirming that he remains loyal to his original choice of McCarthy for any upcoming vote on the Speaker of the House.
"I want a conservative (but moderate) Republican congressman to be the chairman," Gimenez said, adding that the far right is "full of lies."
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