- Written by Bernd Debsmann Jr.
- BBC News, Washington
It is unclear when the vote of members to decide the next chair will be held.
Conservative Jim Jordan was chosen as the Republican candidate for Speaker of the House.
Jordan has the backing of former President Donald Trump, but faced opposition from Georgia state Rep. Austin Scott.
The Ohio congressman received 124 votes from party members in a secret ballot Friday afternoon, with 81 voting no.
But Mr Jordan still faces significant opposition within his own party.
Supporters of Steve Scalise, who was nominated as the party’s House speaker nominee on Wednesday but later withdrew, vowed to oppose Jordan at all costs.
And Mr. Jordan only narrowly widened Mr. Scalise’s fragile 113-vote lead on Wednesday to 99 votes. Therefore, it is unclear whether he has enough support to secure a majority in the entire chamber.
Immediately after the vote, Republican lawmakers moved a second motion for lawmakers to decide whether to support Jordan in a floor vote before adjourning for the weekend.
In the second vote, 55 councilors voted “no” to Jordan.
Among those who remain opposed to Mr. Jordan is Florida’s Mario Diaz-Balart, who told reporters that Mr. Jordan faces “very, very big hurdles” to become speaker. He said he is doing so.
“I don’t think he’s that person,” Diaz-Balart said. “Ultimately, we’re going to need someone who can truly unite us.”
The House of Representatives has been without a speaker for 10 days. Until a new nominee is chosen, the House cannot pass legislation, approve White House emergency aid requests, or pass short-term spending bills.
Earlier this week, Mr. Jordan lost another bid for speaker to Mr. Scalise, the House Republican whip who struggled to garner enough votes and abruptly withdrew from the race on Thursday.
Ahead of Friday’s secret vote, Jordan expressed confidence, telling reporters that the vote was “really good.”
“I think it can unite the conference,” he said. “I think we can tell the country what we’re doing and why it’s important to them.”
But like Mr. Scalise and ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy before him, Mr. Jordan’s path faces significant challenges.
With Republicans narrowly controlling the House, 217 of the 221 Republicans would need to vote for him. He only loses 5 votes.
Some of his supporters expressed optimism that in the coming days, Jordan would be able to sway many of those who voted against him.
“I think Jim can get there,” said Florida Rep. Brian Mast, adding that the weekend would give him additional time to lobby opponents. He said, “I have someone to talk to in the gym.”
Florida Rep. Byron Donald, another Jordan supporter, said he was surprised Jordan lost so many votes to Scott, who only announced his candidacy early Friday.
“I thought it would be higher,” Donald said.
It remains unclear when the speaker’s vote will be sent to the full House, but several members said they were planning to leave over the weekend and the vote could happen as early as Monday, October 16.
“I think we should stay here and finish this, but that’s up to him,” Donald said. “There’s a lot of work that can be done in a short amount of time.”
The Republican conference has also been plagued by attendance issues, with only 209 of its 221 members currently in Washington, D.C. A weekend break will allow missing members to return to the city.
The Democratic Party plans to nominate Hakeem Jeffries, but since the Democratic Party is the minority party in the chamber, there is no chance that he will win.
Speaking at a news conference on the steps of the Capitol after Jordan’s nomination, Jeffries cited Jordan’s role as leader of the far-right Freedom Caucus, which he chose to chair what he called the “Chaos Caucus.” He blamed the Republican Party. .
“House Republicans have been given a choice,” he said. “Meanwhile, House Republicans continue to exacerbate the chaos, dysfunction, and extremism that is gripping the American people.”
“Meanwhile, traditional Republicans can move away from extremism and work with Democrats on a smart bipartisan path so we can stop being reckless and get back to the American people’s jobs.” It can be done,” Jeffries added.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his post on Oct. 4 after striking a deal with Senate Democrats to fund the government.
Hardline Republicans led by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz last week invoked a rarely used procedural tool known as a motion to vacate to oust Mr. McCarthy.
