JIMINY CRICKETS
Fewer votes for Jordan in 2nd House fail
House Republicans failed Wednesday to elect Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) speaker on a second ballot, as calls grew louder to empower speaker pro tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) until the deadlock is broken.
Just 199 GOP lawmakers backed Jordan in the second vote — one fewer than he received a day earlier — while 22 others broke ranks to support former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), and a handful of current and former lawmakers.
The throwaway votes trickled in for GOP Reps. Byron Donalds (Fla.), Mike Garcia (Calif.), Kay Granger (Texas) and Bruce Westerman (Ark.), and for Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minn.)
Michigan Rep. John James backed the former congresswoman from his district, Candice Miller, while Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) shouted out the name of former House Speaker John Boehner, prompting applause from Democrats.
Activate acting speaker
The failure of Tuesday’s first vote and the unlikelihood of Jordan winning the gavel Wednesday moved Kelly and others to begin preparations to enhance the power of the acting speaker, sources told The Post.
One House staffer said members were ready to put a privileged motion on McHenry’s speakership to a floor vote Wednesday, but no such effort was made before the North Carolinian recessed the chamber after Jordan’s vote.
Another GOP aide suggested the motion would grant McHenry the authority to pass bills providing aid to Israel and other measures until Nov. 17, when government funding runs out.
“Of course, Democrats will need to help us out since most of the ‘Taliban caucus’ will oppose any effort like this,” the aide snarked, referring to the eight GOP lawmakers who helped oust McCarthy on Oct. 3.
Emmer told CNN ahead of the vote that the McHenry resolution was a “nonstarter,” leaving the Republican conference in a stalemate of its own making.
As of Tuesday, all 212 Democrats present voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), jeering Jordan’s record as a legislator and his involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Jeffries won most of the votes over the past two days but failed to clear the 217-vote threshold necessary to become House speaker, with 432 members present for the floor vote Tuesday and Wednesday.
The third ballot of the speaker vote, if there is one, will not be held before noon Thursday.