Jordan loses third vote for US House speaker

WASHINGTON: Hardline conservative Republican Jim Jordan on Friday lost a third vote to become speaker of the US House of Representatives, leaving the chamber unable to respond to President Joe Biden’s request for aid to Ukraine and Israel.

Opposition to his candidacy from within his party grew, with 25 Republican lawmakers voting against him, more than the 22 who had opposed in the second round on Wednesday.

Jordan received 194 votes, well short of the 214 he needed to claim the speaker’s gavel.

Now ending its third workweek without a leader, the House cannot act on a $106 billion national-security package unveiled by Biden on Friday that would bolster US border security and send billions to Israel and Ukraine.

It was not immediately clear whether Jordan would abandon his leadership bid and clear the way for other candidates, or press ahead with more votes.

At a news conference ahead of the vote, Jordan said the House needed to install a speaker so it could take up aid for Israel and other maters.

“Our plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected to the House of Representatives as soon as possible,” he said.

A close ally of Donald Trump, Jordan was a “significant player” in the former president’s atempts to overturn Biden’s 2020 election win, according to a congressional investigation.

“I think there were all kinds of problems with the 2020 election, and I’ve been clear about that,” he said.

The narrow and fractious Republican majority has failed to unite behind Jordan or any other candidate to replace Speaker Kevin Mccarthy, who was ousted by a handful of party members on Oct.3.

They also have been unable to agree on a fallback plan that would let the chamber take up legislation.

Mccarthy said Jordan would be an effective leader.

“He is straighforward, honest and reliable.

That is who Jim Jordan is. That’s what being a speaker is all about,” he said as he nominated Jordan on the House floor.

Republicans control the chamber by a narrow 221-212 majority, though some members were absent from Friday’s voting.

Jordan won six fewer votes on Friday than Mccarthy neted in 15 gruelling rounds of voting over four days in January.

Jordan’s bare-knuckle approach seems to have worked against him, as some of his Republican opponents have been outraged by harassing phone calls and death threats.

Jordan’s allies say that should not mater.